- This strategic infrastructure will connect the Madrid-Valladolid-Burgos high-speed line with the Basque Country in Spain, where it will meet the “Y vasca” line and, from there, with the French border.
- EIB financing also includes the link of the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed line with the Madrid-Galicia high-speed line in Olmedo, strengthening high-speed connectivity in north-western Spain.
- Once finished, the Burgos-Vitoria railway, together with the ¨Y vasca”, is expected to serve 5.5 million passengers per year on the Madrid-Basque Country corridor.
- Financing will provide a new boost to rail connectivity within the Iberian Peninsula and with the rest of Europe.
- With the total loan of €1.7 billion approved by the EIB Board of Directors, an initial tranche of €325 million will be signed in the coming days.
Audiovisual material
- Video: soundbite by EIB Group President Nadia Calviño in Spanish Spanish Train Soundbite Clean.mp4 - Google Drive
- Video: construction work high-speed rail link between Madrid-Valladolid and Madrid-Galicia high-speed lines part of the financed project ®Adif
- Photo: construction work high-speed rail link between the Madrid-Valladolid and Madrid-Galicia high-speed lines, part of the financed project ®Adif
The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €1.7 billion in financing to back construction on the high-speed line being built by Adif (Adif AV) between the Spanish cities of Burgos and Vitoria. An initial loan tranche of €325 million will be signed in the coming days. EIB support for high-speed railway in Spain exceeds €14 billion in financing to date.
This EIB financing will provide a new and important boost to high-speed rail connectivity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. The project will link the Madrid-Valladolid-Burgos high-speed line to the Basque Country, and to the French border using international track gauge. In Vitoria (Basque Country), the new line will connect with the so called “Y vasca”, the high-speed line linking the three Basque capitals, also under construction with EIB financing. The project also includes the Olmedo bypass, a link between the Madrid-Valladolid high-speed line and the high-speed line to Galicia, which will enable high-speed travel across the northern half of Spain.
The new line is an important component of the Atlantic Corridor basic network part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). This makes it – along with the “Y vasca” – a key piece of infrastructure linking the Spanish and Portuguese rail networks with France and the rest of the European Union.
The Burgos-Vitoria high-speed rail line is currently under construction on the Pancorbo-Ameyugo section and stretches over 93 km long. Once complete, together with the “Y vasca”, it is expected to serve 5.5 million passengers per year on the Madrid-Basque Country corridor,
This EIB financing is in line with the Bank’s commitment to high-speed rail in Europe. It is among the EIB and Adif’s biggest investments to strengthen rail connections between Spain and the rest of Europe. This project has benefited from the Advisory services of the EIB, which supported Adif and Adif AV in preparing the climate change vulnerability and risk assessment, identifying adaptation solutions, and estimating their costs. Since 2018, the EIB’s Advisory services have been assisting Adif in integrating climate resilience into its processes.
The financing of the Burgos-Vitoria line comes in addition to the EIB financing of the Lisbon-Porto high-speed line in Portugal, thereby making a decisive contribution to sustainable transport connections between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe.
The project will make a significant contribution to the climate action objectives set out in the EIB Group’s Strategic Roadmap for 2024-2027 and phase 2 of the Climate Bank Roadmap for 2026-2030.
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, it finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
Around half of EIB financing in the European Union goes to cohesion regions, where per capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability.
In Spain, the EIB Group signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.
Adif Alta Velocidad
The biggest infrastructure investor in Spain, Adif Alta Velocidad is at the forefront of the transition to a new mobility model that is smarter, safer, more sustainable, more comprehensive and more multimodal. The company is creating a rail network to complete high-speed routes and trans-European transport corridors. The liberalisation of rail passenger transport, the digital transformation and large-scale cultural change are among the challenges facing the company as it aims to consolidate rail as the main mode of transport for the 21st century. Adif AV is an entity under the Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.