€500 million for Spanish high-speed rail

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €500 million loan to finance the construction of the 140km Y Vasca high-speed rail line linking the cities of Vitoria, Bilbao and San Sebastián in Spain.

Spanish government-owned rail company ADIF will build the project, which includes the construction of junctions with the conventional line and access to the existing stations of Vitoria, Bilbao-Obando and San Sebastián-Atotxa. It said 70% of the line will be built in tunnels, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2017.

The project is a priority trans-European transport network (TEN-T) scheme.