SPAIN'S NARROW GAUGE NORTH / RENFE FEVE SANTANDER TO BILBAO REVIEW / SPANISH TRAIN TRIP REPORT
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- čas přidán 13. 05. 2021
- Hello and welcome to one another train trip report on the channel!
So today we will be riding one of the narrow gauge lines which sprawl across Northern Spain. The network is run by Renfe under their 'Feve' branding and covers over 1000km (620 miles).
We will be taking the first of the 4 daily departures from Santander to Bilbao, a journey of just under 3 hours aboard a 2-car Feve DMU.
*PLEASE NOTE* At the time of filming all travel was permitted and has been carried out in full compliance with the local restrictions.
Date of Filming: 1/10/20
Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black
Operator: Renfe Feve
Departure: Santander, Spain
Arrival: Bilbao, Spain
Cost: €8.90
A huge thanks for supporting the channel to my £5+ Patreon supporters:
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@DylansTravelReports
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Here's the Renfe Feve maps with a whole system overview and the individual lines:
www.renfe.com/es/es/cercanias...
Check out my video riding on Feve's only lines in Southern Spain, from Cartagena to Los Nietos:
• RENFE FEVE / CARTAGENA...
Check out my Renfe AVE S-112 review from Córdoba to Madrid @ 300km/h:
• 300KM/H BLAST ACROSS S...
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First time I am watching such a modern narrow-gauge train. The city is also beautiful.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 😁
I plan to take this train from Gama to Bilbao in the Spring and found this video very useful. No background music and natural audio of the environment. Excellent.
Glad it was helpful!
I live near Bilbao and had never traveled this beautiful line in the north of Spain. Thanks for this beautiful visual tour.
You already have a new follower. Greetings from Spain.
Excellent thank you! Bilbao is so lovely and with weather similar to the UK, so I felt right at home 😂
5:25 Northern Spain's coast is very close to the mountains that separate the Iberian Plateau from the coast.
That's why it rains a lot in Northern Spain, even on summer
11:11 It's named Cadagua
12:00 That's the flyovers of the Bilbao's outer bypass (AP-8 or Supersur), a toll motorway to improve traffic on the freeway that's just next to the city (A-8 or Solución Sur) and its connection to the freeway alongside the Cadagua River
14:10 Video's final score: 9.9
Wow a 9.9, thanks Pedro! Also thanks for the great information and yeah sorry for the typo on the river name! ☺️
@@NonstopEurotrip Thank you for the vídeo! ALSA Bus trip lasts just one hour. Three ours from Santander to Bilbao by this FEVE train is the reason why you travelled alone. Santander and San Sebastian are considered two of the most beautiful cities of Spain. Bilbao was an industrial city (as some UK cities in the west midlands).
My wife went to this part of Spain on a work related experience in other words 5 days lolling about, she loved this part of Spain the way of life and the local diet did a lot of travelling around the area and would love to visit again, lovely post
It's a beautiful area 😁
Wow, what a beautiful Narrow Gauge 🚂🚋🚃🚋🚃🚋🚃train with electrified route. I love ❤ this video. Love from India🇮🇳. 🙏🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳❤❤❤❤
Thank you! 🤗
I rode the FEVE in 1975 from Bilbao to San Sebastian. Quite a different train. Very old equipment, 3 class service. 3rd class consisted of plain wooden benches. We made stops at every small town. It was an interesting trip, inexpensive and got me to my destination on time. No complaints.
Haha that must have been a very different experience!
@@NonstopEurotrip It was, but I was living on a student's budget and it was the year that Franco died, so lots of things in Spain were different!
Next time you’re in Bilbao, take a look at the other station, the Abando. It has an amazing stained glass façade. And don’t miss the funicular trip up to Artxanda!
I actually briefly did both but had a plane to catch that same day lol 👌🏻☺️
I love the peaceful scenery of this region as viewed from the train. Thank you for sharing.
Nice scenery! I never expected to be so enthralled by these kind of videos but I recently found your channel and I'm loving the trips with just the ambient sound. I'll keep going through the back catalogue while waiting for new videos!
Thank you so much Juan! Glad you like them ☺️
Incredible video! I'd like to point out that in the minute 11:07 the river that you are seeing is called Cadagua, not "Caduga" hahah. BTW, subbed, loved your content!
Glad you enjoyed it ☺️
It is sad to think that one day this narrow gauge lines will be eventually abandoned at so.e extend. At the end, we're talking about some extremely valued Spanish industrial patrimony. There's a project of building a high speed line covering service in the northern corridor for the next few years.
Sad, but probably neccessary...
Another wonderful video that adds another trip unto my bucket list that I will hopefully start checking in a couple of years.
Thank you John! Sorry for keep giving you all these bucket list ideas, lots more to come soon 😅😅😅
Excelente muy bien hecho y super relajado. Gracias
Gracias Amigo!
Started from Ferrol 3 days ago! Arrived today in Bilbao on the 14.00hrs from Santander, everything you say in your video is spot on. I was more lucky with the weather though!!!
Good good 👌🏻
Happy to see my city of birth here, Santander, I have used that station and that bar many times to have a snack, after coming back from school. Good people.
I hope you enjoyed the trip. Although it is true that the cars are not very comfortable, I hope to see some talgo soon to enjoy the views like a king.
Thanks for your videos
There's already some Talgo on the channel! Glad you enjoyed this video!
Thank you for a great video which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have been to Santander by RENFE service from Madrid, which was excellent, and must now ride the FEVE trains to Bilbao !
That facade is bonkers 😍
It sure is!!!
Santander is my favourite city in Spain. I love the cafe adjacent to the station. I always go there. They make the best sandwiches ever!
Is that the one I went to for coffee? ☕
@@NonstopEurotrip yes!
I love Santander too. Beautiful location and many wonderful beaches on to the east toward Bilbao.
@@williamelgin6873 I did not get a chance to visit the beaches close to Bilbao. However, I was impressed by Bilbao. I had the feeling that I was in a Dutch city with its amazing buildings.
@@stephanedjedje5837 Both Bilbao and Santander are very nice cities. Bilbao has improved greatly over the years with the clean-up from the steel industry and all of the building and renovation related to the Guggenheim Museum.
Beautiful video! I love Bilbao's Concordia station every time I go there. I've taken the FEVE services there to Balmaseda and to Santander. The station is just a lovely monumental work of art, and FEVE is such a cheap and beautiful way to get around Spain. Picturesque vistas are not a miss on any FEVE route. I've travelled on most of northern Spain's FEVE lines, and they are all charming to say the least. Good job!
Glad you enjoyed it! I hope to travel on some more FEVE lines this year. Which ones would you recommend? ☺️👌🏻😎🇪🇸
@@NonstopEurotrip I would also really recommend you try Oviedo-Ferrol, although that one is like 7h. It has stunning coastal scenery and beautiful viaducts. Another one I could really recommend is Bilbao-Leon, but I haven’t tried that one yet. I’m planning to try it out this year though.
@@TreneroRafael excellent thank you!!! 👍🏻☺️
Εξαιρετικά! Βοηθείστε και την Ελλάδα να βελτιώσει τα σιδηροδρομικά δίκτυα narrow gaugen που διαθέτει!
Soy de Astillero, cerca de Santander, viajo mucho desde el pueblo donde vivo ahora a Santander en el tren de FEVE, y hace poco fui en uno de esos trenes, me encanta ir en tren 😊; a Bilbao también he ido en tren, pero prefiero el autobús, es más rápido
Sí, si tuviera que llegar rápido, también tomaría el autobús!
Video's Score: 9/10 Lovely looking city and quirky rail service, I always like trips which aren’t too spoken about 👍
Thank you Liam, I agree and I see you've been on a bit of a watching spree 😅
Thank you.
Fabulous I’m now planning a trip to. Bilbao great video
It's a wonderful place ☺️
Fabulous!
Thank you!!! 🤩
I really enjoyed the video! Looks beautiful scenery along the route! Bilbao is a great city to visit and to try some Basque
Pinchos (Tapas). :-)
Yes for sure! I didn't have much time in Bilbao this time but will be sure to go back soon ☺️🇪🇸
Great video !!
😁
Thanks for doing this trip, I’m in Santander this month and will do the train there, ALSA bus back on our day trip to Bilbao, new sub here 👍🏼🏄♂️
Thanks! Welcome along 🙂
Great trip report
Thank you! 👍🏻
Nice video! I see you had a luck to catch an empty train, I like trains like that! This unit looks very nice and also the landscapes around the route look really beautiful :-)
Thank you Pete! It's definitely a great experience and I hope to try out some more of the FEVE trains soon 😎👌🏻
Unfortunately, these trains usually run empty, because the travel times and reliability of the service are very bad. Locals prefer to travel by car or bus. The only people using long distance Feve trains are tourists. It's the sad reality
So interesting to see the Train Station that I use everyday with you eyes hahaha. Greatings from Santander!
I hope you enjoyed it, greetings amigo 🇪🇦
Great video! 😊
Glad you liked it! 🙂
You should definitely check out the narrow gauge trains in Sardinia: stations are not as grand but the views (especially in the touristic services) are more than stunning
I have been thinking about that for a while actually, hopefully very soon! 😃
Great review!! Nice big windows for viewing the beautiful scenery. Shame the weather was overcast and drizzly.😀😀♥️♥️
Thank you Scott! I've got a 7 hour trip on this network coming up soon (ish) 🔜😀
@@NonstopEurotrip looking forward to your review😀
Feve did not run all of the narrow gauge lines in the north. There are also Euskotren and Metro Bilbao running narrow gauge lines in northern spain
Awesome video, what a beautiful route! I believe you forgot to link the FEVE map in the description, is that right? Keep up the great work!
Thank you! 😎 The link is in the description now 👌🏻
love northern Spain!
😍😍😍
Thank you for a wonderful trip through stunning scenery to a fantastic history and architecture. Definitely on my post-pandemic bucket list!
You're welcome! More bucket list trips to come soon 😅😅😅
Good Capture
Thanks!
Nice Video!👍Like 482
Greetings from Switzerland
Thank you!!! 😁
You Should do the Denia to Alicante run once the upgraded section from Denia to Benidorm reopens.
I'll put it on my to-do list 😁
I have a suggestion to make: Check out the Bilbao-Donostia trip abroad the Euskotren E1 line. I take part of it every day and I made the full trip once and it is amazing. It even has automatic toilets! (But only on the Donostia line, there is the Bermeo line and the Lezama line, but the Donostia one is the one you should take in my opinion). Let me know if you decide to and I'll send you an email with more info!
I definitely look into it ☺️
Hello!
I love this trains because there are lot of trains Feve next to my house
Here is your luke + One more sub!
Ah excellent! I have another FEVE video to come soon 😁
Any chance of doing some of the FEVE services around Oviedo. We are thinking of moving up there from Andalucía because of the heat. This summer was horrendous.
I won't be back in Spain for a while I'm afraid!
Good video on the narrow guage train Northern Spain certainly looks more greener than the desert climate Spainish interior (perhaps the views out of the window would have been better if you didn't bring the British weather with you 😂)
Yeah I can't right at home with all that train 😂😂😂
Thank you, nonstop eurotrip! We have planned for the 2021 vintage full of trains (I hope it will be of the same quality as that of 2020, especially since some are not easy). And you, where are you going to take us? I have only known for two years that there are different tracks for trains. Why in this video, the width of the rails is not the same as usual, well like most of the time or always in France or in Great Britain or in Europe or in the world? What is this kind of special rails for? Thanks to you !
Thanks Louis! I have lots of plans for 2021! Some of which will become apparent soon. 🚈🚝🚅🚄🚂🚃🚋🚎🚞🚊🚉 Different track gauges are just a matter of choice or necessity from whoever is designing the railway 🤷🏻♂️
I have been on this line although it was a very long time ago
It's probably not much different 😅
I love this train
Can you travel Zaragoza/canfranc pleas is muy favorite rout of renfe
Maybe next time I'm back down that way ☺️
@@NonstopEurotrip Canfrancero
I traveled the network from Bilbao to Oviedo and Codillero. Due to technical issues I travelled from El Ferrol to Oviedo and from Leon to Bilbao one year later. Between Oviedo and Leon I used the normal REnfe train over the Pajara Mountain. What I missed jet is Euscotrain from Bilbao to Irun.
Some good ideas there thank you ☺️
Euskotren, actually
*Pajares mountain pass. Pájara means something totally different in spanish XD
@@osasunaitor Thank you for your information, unfortunatly I can not correct my posting.
El Transcantabrico currently costs according to their website 8,900 EUR/person based on double occupancy. Where did you see the £615? :-)
Sorry I made this video so long ago 🤷🏻♂️
Love how we're just too polite to mention the life size plastic cow just standing there in the cafetería...
I think it's a Spanish thing, they're everywhere 😂
ese viaje también lo e realizado hace tiempo
👍🏻🇪🇦
@@NonstopEurotrip el de Santander a Oviedo es también muy bonito
I worked as a engineer in that line 1987-88-89
Interesting!!!
Sadly/luckily a bus ride from Santander to Bilbao on a very nice free high-way only costs 6 euros and takes 1.20 minutes. Feve is really only for local commutes, nobody travels from Santander to Bilbao by train.
Oh absolutely, but it's a novelty ☺️
@@NonstopEurotrip I am from Santander and I live in Barcelona therefore getting to Madrid, Zaragoza, Valencia, Sevilla no problem and now with an open market very cheaply. But if I want to go to Bilbao to later take a bus to visit my family forget it, expensive, slow and almost impossible to book. A few years back there was a night train between Barcelona and Bilbao but RENFE cancelled the train in my opinion inexplicably and the new rail operators would have to purchase Talgo variable gauge trains to run the Barcelona - Bilbao corridor which they probably will not therefore.... The train in Spain depends mainly if you live in Madrid!
@@javierlav Oh I completely agree with you mate!
@@javierlav True, Bilbao is very poorly communicated via railways, partly due to the bad orography surrounding the city (any direction you go, you find mountains), and partly because of the bad management of our railways.
It should improve once the AVE line is finished, but this will mean the end of train stops in many smaller towns, so it's not good for everyone...
@@osasunaitor Spain is a very mountainous country which has always affected communications and "mentalities" but the fact that freight trains to Europe with the standard gauge have only arrived to Irun and Barcelona prove that we are a Country that lives and dies to maintain and keep happy a huge public sector (this comes from Franco's regime) that is unproductive (except the public healthcare system). Renfe is just another example of the 'semi' public sector that needs an overhauling.
Este trayecto es una auténtica antigualla porque no es normal que se tarde casi tres horas en recorrer los 100 km más o menos que hay entre Bilbao y Santander, cuando algunos autobuses de Alsa lo realizan en poco más de una hora y en coche en 45-50 minutos.Por eso,es rarísimo el viajero que llega hasta Bilbao a través de FEVE.Santander más que AVES necesita un nuevo ferrocarril hacia Bilbao que dé un auténtico servicio a Solares, Laredo, Santoña y Castro Urdiales.Da pena esta línea con poquísimos viajeros y estaciones cerradas cuando se viaja muchísimo entre Bilbao y Santander
Estoy de acuerdo, pero no se trata solo de la velocidad, se trata del viaje!
@@NonstopEurotrip exacto, lo mejor de este tren son las vistas, que son de película, hacen que se te quite la mala leche por las 3 h. de viaje; la última vez que cogí este tren, en 2000 fueron 4 horas, pues el tren se paró subiendo la cuesta de Laredo por falta de potencia.
El Alsa que va de Santander a Bilbao hace todas las paradas que hace el tren? Está claro que el feve es más útil para rutas intermedias e igualmente el usuario de transporte público prefiere mejores frecuencias que tardar 10 o 15 minutos más.
Such an advanced trains but running on narrow gauge. That is what surprising me.
Well that's what they're working with 🤣
5:44 Do you know what are these beeps and alarms? I can tell you if you want
The ATP?
@@NonstopEurotrip Is not ATP. Is called ASFA (Anuncio de Señales y Frenado Automático).Is a system that controls train's max speed (not track limit,but the train speed), approaching yellow,slow down,juction diverging signals,slowing limit (used only in extreme situations the limit,which is used ONLY in TEMPORARY SPEED RESTRICTION with slowing down =>60 kmh to new limit).It doesn't do much else unlike the ATP more (like German PZB a bit)
Each train in Spain MUST have it (except shunters)
@@TheArkamedBat interesting thanks 😊🙏🏻
Can you take your bicycle with you on this Renfe narrow gauge trains?
Yes!
How Many Cars?
Did you watch the video?
But the best Art Museum is El Prado yn Madrid
Yes! I went the other day ☺️
The landscapes are amazing but the train is so slow 100km take 3h
I know right. But it's not about speed 🙂
It is more like 110 km in 2h 55
And the route that takes is longer
True, but nothing that can be done about it. Maximum speed in the metre gauge network (1000 mm) is 100 km/h; any speed above that would be considered unsafe. For reference, conventional lines using standard gauge (1668 mm) are up to 220 km/h and high speed lines using narrow gauge (1435) up to 350 km/h. Metre gauge simply has its inherent limitations.
@@El-Mengu Most of the world would disagree with you on 1668 being 'standard gauge' 😂😂😂
@@El-Mengu 1668 is Iberian gauge my friend XD. 1435 is the Standard one
To bad that Portugal shut down almost every narrow gauge lines ☹️
There's still some left though? 😊
@@NonstopEurotrip Yes, the Vouga line. The branches from Espinho to Oliveira de Azeméis and from Aveiro to Águeda are still in service. Both have regular services (czcams.com/video/Zk3Y8RyCnz8/video.html) and the second one also historic/touristic services: czcams.com/video/gVO23cKxe7A/video.html
2:30 incorrect
The only problem is these trains are empty
Wasn't a problem for me lol 😂
Any problem speaking Spanish out there in Bilbao?Hope not!I won t learn that weird tongue
Normal Spanish for me.... :-)
Karrantza, kadagua river....there is no c in euskara alphabet, euskara is the language of the basques, spoken today in all the 7 provinces, Bizkaia, Araba, Gipuzkoa, Lapurdi, Zuberoa, Nafarroa, Nafarroa Behera divided between France and Spain.THX. Mila esker
¡No es necesaria tanta cháchara lingüística , a nadie le interesa, es un simple video sobre trenes no sobre idiomas, por favor! ¡Que trauma!
Euskara batua. Traditionally there was not a Basque language but many different dialects so that, from valley to valley, they barely could understand eachother. Euskara batua as a unified language dates back from the 1970's. It's an artificial language, a modern invention.
@@robert111k there is always been a basque mother language, euskara, oldest in europe, with several dialects. Batua is as artificial as your own language, the artificially unified german, the artifical spanish of the academia de la lengua or the artificial academic french, as they have all been sort of polished and academised by the ruling elites in their language laboratories from the XVIII onwards, to frame the creation of their respective artificial nation states.
@@sarribel The Basque language is a 50 percent invented language, taking words from Spanish. It is a very minority, its use is reduced to 27 percent of the population. If it weren't for economic interests (which local politicians live on), it is a language that would disappear in a decade or less. It's a stupid political luxury that taxpayers pay for.
Jajajajaja, no imaginaba encontrarme a un racista separatista descerebrado, engañado y sectario en un vídeo de trenes. Pero ya ves, como los hongos, en todas partes... ¿Siete provincias dices? ¿Y por qué no setenta? Jajaja. En fin, un saludo, compatriota español.