EuskoTran
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EuskoTran.jpg
EuskoTran ("BasqueTram") is the name of the tram in Bilbao, Spain, built in 2002 as a complement to the Bilbao metro. It is often described as the most modern public transportation system in the world. Trains moving at top speed (about 50 km/h) do not make much more noise than a car. Along the Nervion river, near the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum and San Mamés stadium, the tracks are covered in grass (as seen in the photo). Each 25 meter long tram can hold 192 people, 50 of them seated (about the capacity of three buses). Tram access is at platform level, making it easy for all passengers to get on and off though the tram's eight doors. Speakers in the trams broadcast music and stop information. Bilbao locals initially considered it a public image effort, since it is not cheaper than the metro and it is not included in the public transport cards. However it offers good sightseeing of the "new Bilbao". At first, when the line wasn't fully operational, it was common to see the trams almost empty.
An early tram system had been substituted by trolley buses in the 1950s, which were later retired.
External links
- Schedule and stop information, as well as a more detailed history of this tram, is available at EuskoTran's website (http://www.euskotran.es).