Basque Transport Ministry brings the new Zarautz railway station into service on Monday 15 April

• The terminal built as an elevated overpass facilitates the urban permeability thanks to a square running north to south under the railway line. 

The Basque Government's Ministry of Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport will bring into service the new Zarautz railway station from 6.00 a.m. on Monday 15 April.  The dismantling of the temporary terminal used during the works will begin shortly afterwards.

Apart from modernising the railway facilities, the construction of the new Zarautz station has optimised the urban integration of the railway line in the municipality. The new infrastructure has eliminated the previous crossing between platforms and guarantee a safe an accessible connection between the platforms and the lobby area.

In turn, as the station is built as an elevated overpass, it facilitates the urban permeability between the areas to the north and south of the railway line in the urban centre of Zarautz, particularly after the urban development in Salberdin. The underpass is not designed as such, but is rather a continuous square on both sides of the track, with landscaped areas and several pedestrian and cycle connections. 

Access to the lobby is directly from the street, by means of a small ramp to keep the rain out.   The station has steps and accessible lifts for people with reduced mobility to bridge the difference in height to the platforms.  Each lift can carry up to eight people. 
The side platforms are 80 metres long and 5.90 metres wide. All the new layout is double track; the platform has already been prepared for the possible doubling of the rest of the line.  A double crossover or bretelle has also been installed at the Bilbao end of the station, which will allow the trains from Donostia/San Sebastián to change track. 

In fact, the forecasts are for an increase in the number of passengers using the Bilbao-Donostia line, once the Topo railway bypass comes into service in Donostia. The Basque Transport Ministry has invested heavily in different railway structures between Elgoibar and Donostia to improve the connection between the west coast of Gipuzkoa and its capital.  The projects include the Alzola bypass, a new terminal in Usurbil, the Zarautz bridge refurbishment, the remodelling of the station in that town, along with building engine sheds, the consolidation of the Meagas tunnel and track renewal, and the full refurbishment of the San Pelaio halt in Zarautz.  The Ministry has recently put out to tender the Aginaga railway bypass, between Orio and Usurbil, which will basically consist of constructing a double-track tunnel that will be 1,329 metres long; this will allow the frequencies to be doubled and a connection between Zarautz and Donostia every 15 minutes. 

This project has been financed by ETS, a public entity of the Basque Government's Ministry of Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport, and Zarautz Local Council, thanks to the agreement signed between both institutions, where the first contributed 66.7% of the budget and the council the remaining 33.3%.