Change of platform for Euskotren trains between Hendaye and Pasaia from next Wednesday
• The change, introduced by ETS to adapt the direction of the traffic on the Topo to its other railway lines, will come into force between Hendaye and Errenteria on Wednesday 11 February; Galtzaraborda and Pasaia will be included on Thursday 12th and the measure will be extended to Amara during 2026
The Euskotren trains between Hendaye and Pasaia will start to use a different platform from Wednesday 11 February. This change – introduced by Euskal Trenbide Sarea (ETS), the Basque Government’s public entity that manages the infrastructure – aims to adapt the direction of the traffic along the Topo line – where trains currently travel on the right – to the other railway lines, where the trains use the left track. The measure will come into force between Hendaye and Errenteria on Wednesday 11 February, and will then be extended to Galtzaraborda and Pasaia on the following day, the 12th. During 2026, the change will be progressively rolled out to the other stations to Amara, coinciding with the coming into service of the three new underground stations in San Sebastián.
Once this change comes into force, users of the Hendaye-Pasaia section – stations that record an average of 47,5000 passengers on weekdays – will have to board the train from the opposite platform to the one they currently use when travelling. In order to facilitate the change, Euskotren and ETS will provide more assistance at the stations, install specific signs and make loudspeaker announcements reminding users of the change during the whole day. Trains will have technical modifications and a specific software to support the drivers.
This change of platform is necessary for the future Hendaye-Zarautz rail connection, which will be possible once the San Sebastián railway bypass comes into service. The reason for the change is that the trains between the French border and the capital of Gipuzkoa (the Topo line) run on the right, while the rest of the Euskotren, from San Sebastián to Bilbao, use the left track. Amara has so far been the point to change direction (as it is what is known as a headshunt, the end-of-line facility where the trains turn around). However, the headshunt will no longer exist then the bypass comes into service in the coming months; therefore, all the trains will have to run in the same direction, on the left in the direction of travel. This change will optimise the travel flow, cut connection times and improve the passenger experience.
Left or right
There is currently no agreement or universal criterion regarding the best way for trains to travel. They run on the left in countries such as France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. However, trains travel on the right in the Netherlands, United States of America and Germany. During the time of steam trains, the locomotives were driven on the left so the heavy throttle could be operated with the right hand, which made it easier for right-handed drivers; however, the trains travelling on the left made the worker of the stoker easier. Today’s train have the driving position in the middle of the cab so it can travel on either side.
Lines where trains travel on the left – such as the one between Bilbao and San Sebastián (E1) – currently coexist in the Basque railway network of Euskotren and ETS, which is under 200 kilometres in length, with other where the traffic runs on the right, specifically the Topo (E2 Amara-Hendaye). Trains originally travelled on the right on the whole network, and also between Bilbao and San Sebastián. However, the serious floods that battered the Basque Country in 1983 destroyed the whole signalling system on the dual track section between the capital of Bizkaia and Lemoa station; Euskotren then decided to use that circumstance to change the direction of travel to the left on that section. The decision was taken in order to connect with the future Metro underground and also to improve driver visibility of the platforms, as the driving position of all the rolling stock at that time was on the left.
The process will begin this Wednesday to standardise the direction of travel in the rest of the eastern part of the network to the border. It will take place in two phases: the first between the border and Pasaia, from 11 and 12 February, and second when the San Sebastián underground bypass comes into service.