Santimami/San Mamés station

The station, originally named simply San Mamés, opened as part of Metro Bilbao's line 1 on 11 November 1995. The station was constructed below Sabino Arana Av., the main access to the city from the A-8 motorway, and between the Termibus bus station and the San Mamés Stadium. Thus the station had a very high traffic of passengers commuting daily from other parts of the metropolitan area to the bus station, and to the stadium on match days.

In 2000, the San Mamés station of the commuter rail network Cercanías Bilbao (operated by Cercanías) was opened on a nearby location, as part of the new underground section of lines C-1 and C-2. Despite both stations being in close proximity, they were not physically connected. In addition to that, a third San Mamés station was opened in 2002 as part of Bilbao's Tram; unlike the other two the station was located overground and closer to the bus station.

The interchange station was built in 2004 allowing for an easy connection between Metro Bilbao and Cercanías Bilbao, which now have a common access and hall, which also connects them directly to the bus station entrance and the tram stop, which was relocated closer to the new station. In 2017 work began for the construction of a new underground bus station, which involved temporarily shutting down the direct connection between the interchange station and the bus terminal.[2] The connection was reopened on November 2019, after the opening of the new Bilbao Intermodal bus station.[3]

Santimami/San Mamés is in truth two separate underground stations connected by a common hall. The metro station follows the typical cavern-shaped layout of most underground Metro Bilbao stations designed by Norman Foster, with the main hall located directly above the rail tracks, whereas the Cercanías Bilbao station follows a rectangular design with high ceilings.