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Connection Asturias-"Y Vasca": Adif prioritizes Gasteiz rejecting Ezkio
  • The government of Spain will officially decide in 2024 where it will connect the Y Vasca with the TAV of Navarra, from Vitoria or Ezkio, but it seems that, as has been said on 11 occasions, the capital alavesa will be prioritized as a link.
Xabier Letona Biteri @xletona 2023ko irailaren 01a
Argazkia: Adif

He has pointed out on several occasions that the Spanish Government sees Vitoria's most appropriate option, both with the PSOE and with the PP, but they have not yet taken a final decision. Now, on the contrary, the City Hall of Vitoria-Gasteiz is drawing up a plan for the future and, as he published this Friday, The Basque Journal, asked Adif what he should do with this connection, which he replied that in the plans for restructuring the city take into account the TAV of Navarra that would come from Sakana. Adif is an association under the Government of Spain that is responsible for the construction of the railways of the State.

The PSOE and PP are very clear that they want from Vitoria, but some political forces of the Basque Country are supporters of Ezkio, such as the PNV, UPN and Geroa Bai. The position of the PSN is similar to the intermittent – now Gasteiz now Ezkio – but in recent years it has approved the link of Vitoria. The PNV also presses in favour of Ezkio, but the Algerian nationalists have stated on several occasions that they prefer the Vitoria option.

Surveys up to 2024

However, at the request of the Government of Navarra, the Spanish Government has commissioned new surveys in Sakana and Aralar which will be completed by June next year. With the results of this work, the Government of Spain will communicate from where the connection with the Basque Y will take place.

Basically these are monetary and security issues: To do so from Vitoria would be an investment of 700 million and from Ezkio EUR 2 billion, EUR 1,300 more. This data is five years ago and it is to be assumed that the update will be much more expensive.

The road from Vitoria-Gasteiz has no great mysteries, as it would be more or less parallel to the current Atlantic-Gasteiz railway. In the ravine it would have a significant environmental impact, as the valley should pick up the old road, the highway, the current rail and the new TAV road, but technically it would be much simpler, among other things, only five out of 75 kilometres would be underground.

Ezkio's route would be a shorter one, 55 kilometers, of which 22 would be from the Aralar tunnel, with the great complexity that this entails. It is much more difficult to do and much more difficult to anticipate the problem that arises in the future.

From a temporary point of view, on the contrary, it would be shorter, and that is why Ezkio supporters prefer. On the one hand, the fast train from Vitoria would arrive in an hour and three minutes from Bilbao to Pamplona and in 40 minutes from Ezkio. On the other hand, the supporters of the TAV have always argued that the infrastructure is essential to connect Navarre with Europe, dead or alive, but that is not so clear if to go from Pamplona to Irún you have to go through Vitoria. In this case it is logical to think that the citizen will continue to use road 121-A, as it would come to Irun cheaper and faster.