By rosebell
Excavation of another section of Madrid’s Metro Line 11 extension has been completed.
TBM Mayrit has broken through at the future Palos de la Frontera station to complete 2.73km of tunnelling.
An Acciona, Dragados and Rover joint venture launched the 9.4m-diameter Herrenknecht EPB machine from Comillas on March 26. It made the first breakthrough through at Madrid Rio station on June 9.
Excavation of the first 1.116km section to Madrid Rio was completed in 76 days, with 656 rings installed and 77,562m3 of spoil excavated.
TBM Mayrit resumed work on June 26 to advance the remaining 1.616km to Palos de la Frontera. It excavated this section in 71 days, placing 950 rings and extracting 111,009m3 of soil.
During the 2.73km drive from Comillas, 1,606 rings were installed and 188,571m3 of spoil extracted.
Over the entire stretch, tunnelling advanced at an average of 18.6m per day but between Madrid Rio and Palos de la Frontera the average daily advance was 22.8m.
A further 679m of tunnel will now be excavated by pick and shovel to complete approximately 60% of tunnelling for the Line 11 extension.
The Acciona, Dragados and Rover joint venture’s contract includes a 6.6km underground metro line extension and the construction of stations at Comillas, Madrid Río, Palos de la Frontera, Atocha, and Conde de Casal – the first two being newly built – as well as seven emergency exits and five ventilation shafts, plus installation of slab track.
The Line 11 extension will create a south-west to north-east axis for Madrid’s metro network.
