boring

With 3,500 tons and 15 meters in diameter, China already has the largest tunnel boring machine in the world for high-speed trains

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China has just introduced Jiaoping No.1, the world’s largest earth pressure balance (EPB) TBM designed specifically for high-speed railway tunnels. According to counted recently reported by the state broadcaster CGTN, it is a 3,500-ton colossus with an excavation diameter of 14.57 meters, capable of also using artificial intelligence to monitor, adjust and correct breakdowns while drilling underground, all under extreme underground conditions. We tell you everything. What exactly is it. An earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine is a type of machine that excavates the ground while supporting it at the same time. The rotating head (cutting head) tears off material from the front, which accumulates in a closed chamber just behind. This accumulated earth acts as a “plug” and compensates for the natural pressure of the soil and water, preventing the excavation face from collapsing or the surface land from sinking. For soft soils or urban areas, it is a widely used method and we have seen it other times, like in Madrid with ‘Mayrit’ for transform L11. Why size matters. The larger the tunnel, the more complex and heavier the equipment needed to excavate it, and the more difficult it is to keep such a large excavation face stable. The latest one presented in China is almost 15 meters in diameter and specializes in high-speed lines, so it exceeds a considerable technical ceiling. It is a diameter comparable to that of the largest Chinese underwater tunnel boring machines, like the Dinghaiwhich has an identical maximum excavation diameter (14.57 meters) for the Jintang underwater tunnel. What AI does. According to the media, Jiaoping No.1 incorporates AI to monitor drilling in real time, adjust parameters and detect failures autonomously. And it is something that we see more and more in machinery of this caliber, since in recent projects such as the yangtze river tunnel between Chongming and Taicang, the Linghang TBM employs, according to Interesting Engineeringan intelligent control system capable of automatically regulating pressure, anticipating ground conditions using data and self-guiding during progress. Independence of the West. As has happened in many other sectors, China has gone from depending almost completely on foreign technology to dominating the world market in just a few years. Until a decade ago, German and Japanese manufacturers controlled the vast majority of this market. The turning point came in 2017, when China presented its first domestically manufactured 15-meter class TBM. Today the situation is very different. And according to data from People’s Daily, Chinese-made tunnel boring machines They hold close to 70% of the global market. Behind these teams are usually large state groups such as China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG), the largest manufacturer in the country, or China Railway Construction Heavy Industry. What is all this for? The ultimate goal of these machines is to allow high-speed trains to cross rivers, seas and mountains at 350 km/h inside tunnels, something that a decade ago was a much greater challenge. Projects like the Yangtze Undersea Tunnel seek to drastically cut travel times between large cities and boost the economy of entire regions. And a tunnel boring machine like the Jiaoping No.1 makes its way however it wants. Cover image | Modern China In Xataka | Spain and Morocco have been dreaming of a tunnel under the Strait for 40 years. The great enemy of the project is called Umbral de Camarinal

To move the cutting head of the ‘Monica’ tunnel boring machine, a 152-wheel truck was needed. It’s the key to Australia’s ‘water battery’

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Transporting a gigantic tunnel boring machine to the work point is no small feat, and Madrid has a few things to say about this. However, in Cooma, a small town in the Australian state of New South Wales, they seem to have gotten the hang of it. And the colossal piece of steel crossed its streets at a snail’s pace on a 152 wheel truck. The cargo was part of Snowy 2.0one of the largest energy storage projects in the world. What is it about?. The piece was the central block of the cutting head of the tunnel boring machine named Monica. According to Snowy Hydro, the public company behind the project, this component weighs more than 137 tons and measures seven meters wide. The head is the part that really matters in a tunnel boring machine, since it is the rotating disc that faces the rock and crushes it as it moves. Media deployment. Monica’s head is too big to transport in one piece, so it had to be divided into five parts. Still, just moving the center block required months of preparation. The entire transport reached 73 meters in length, and was moved at night facing the last stretch along the Snowy Mountains Highway, heading to the Marica site, north of Kiandra, where the machine would be assembled. A colossal engineering project. This move was just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The company indicates that in the previous weeks more than 140 large loads were delivered to Marica from the port of Port Kembla, south of Sydney. The tunnel boring machines do not arrive assembled, as they are transported in sections (head, drive system, shields, support platforms) and are assembled on site. In fact, last October, the transport of Monica’s motor system (a component about 207 tons and eight meters wide) brought more than 1,500 people to Cooma, in what Snowy Hydro called one of the largest loads ever transported by road in New South Wales. What is all this for? Snowy 2.0 is, in essence, a gigantic water battery. The project will connect the Tantangara and Talbingo reservoirs through some 27 kilometers of tunnels and an underground power station. The idea is to generate electricity by turbineing water when demand is high and, in times of surplus solar and wind energy, pump it back uphill for reuse. The company assures that it will have a capacity of 2,200 megawatts and enough stored energy to supply about three million homes for a week. Start-up. Last February, Snowy Hydro announced that Monica had been commissioned and would be responsible for excavating the section of the tunnel that crosses the Long Plain fault zone, a geologically complicated area. Designed by the German firm Herrenknecht, the machine advances at one end of the tunnel while another tunnel boring machine, Florence, does so at the opposite. The idea is that both are underground before being dismantled. For those dates the project exceeded 70% execution. Snowy 2.0 has not been without controversy with news of cost overruns and delays, and completion is now scheduled for December 2028. Images | Snowy Hydro In Xataka | Canada is going to debut the residential skyscraper with the most floors in all of North America: it has 12 sides and 351 meters high

A gigantic tunnel boring machine 16 meters in diameter is devouring the sea floor under Genoa. It is your solution against traffic

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Under the port of Genoa, the largest in Italy, there is a machine that aims to devour the sea floor meter by meter. And it does so from the bowels of the earth, 45 meters deep and without interrupting the traffic that passes above it every day. The key is a 16 meter diameter tunnel boring machine that is drilling into the seabed like butter. This is how Italy is solving one of its most entrenched mobility problems, and in the process building the first underwater tunnel of the history of the country. A problem that has been unsolved for decades. Genoa is a city trapped between the Mediterranean Sea and the foothills of the Apennines. It has no room to grow. Its historic center is a labyrinth of narrow streets, and east-west traffic has always been a headache. The solution adopted in the 1960s was to build a gigantic elevated highway, the Sopraelevata Aldo Moro, which crosses the city like a concrete scar. for her About 80,000 vehicles pass through each daybut at a high price: it blocks the view of the sea, generates constant noise and, for many citizens, is a barrier that separates the city from its own port. Its demolition has been stalled for years because no one knows what to do with that traffic in the meantime. Tragedy. The tunnel project was born from an agreement between Autostrade per l’Italia, the Italian Ministry of Transport and local administrations as compensation to the city after the collapse of the Morandi bridge in 2018. That collapse, which claimed 43 lives, left Genoa without one of its main accesses and put the highway concessionaire company under the spotlight. As part of the repair agreement, signed in October 2021, Autostrade per l’Italia, the Liguria Region, the Western Ligure Sea Port System Authority and the Municipality of Genoa agreed to build this underwater tunnel. It is, in practice, the great work of compensation for a city that suffered a tragedy. What is being built. The total route is 4.2 kilometers, of which 3.4 run under the sea floor. It will consist of two separate galleries, one in each direction, each 16 meters in diameter, and will reach a maximum depth of 45 meters below sea level. When completed, it is expected to be Italy’s first underwater tunnel, the largest in Europe (with pardon is being built between Germany and Denmark) and the fourth largest in the world by diameter. Next to nothing. The key: a Hydroshield TBM. Excavating under an active port without interrupting its activity is a monumental challenge. The solution is a TBM tunnel boring machine (Tunnel Boring Machine) Hydroshield type. Each of the two main galleries will be constructed by mechanized excavation with a Hydroshield type back-pressure armored TBM milling cutter, with an excavation diameter of approximately 16 meters. Why this type and not another? In a Hydroshield TBM, the balance in the excavation chamber is maintained through the pressure of water or bentonite slurrywhich stabilizes the excavation face. The extracted material is mixed with these sludge and transported to the surface through pipes. It is the ideal technology for unstable terrain with the presence of water: it allows you to continue drilling without the sea floor crumbling and without the sea entering the gallery. The port above is still working. The gallery measures 15.4 meters in diameter on the outside, but the useful space for circulation is somewhat less, 14.3 meters, because the walls are considerably thick. These walls are built by assembling prefabricated pieces of concrete, as if they were the staves of a giant barrel, joined together with screws and sealed with rubber gaskets so that water does not enter. As if that were not enough, an additional layer of concrete is added inside that further reinforces the impermeability, especially in the sections that are just below the port. The result is a practically airtight tube capable of withstanding the pressure of the sea on its walls. lto logistics of the work. You can’t just place a tunnel boring machine on the seabed and run it. First you have to prepare the ground. The tunnel boring machine was thrown from an attack pit in the San Benigno areaon the west side of the city. To free up that space, Autostrade first had to move a port railway line that ran through there. The railway route, about 700 meters long, has been moved about 70 meters to the south with respect to its previous position, running parallel to the port sopraelevata until passing under it in its final section. Deadlines. Preparation works started in 2023, and work began in March 2024. However, the full tender for the construction of the two main galleries was not approved until January 2026. The specifications set a period of 75 months to complete the entire work. According to the latest Autostrade documents, the TBM will complete excavation work in October 2030, with full completion of the work planned for 2031. Budget. The project started from a budget of 700 million euros, although the mayor of Genoa, Silvia Salis, confirmed that Autostrade now places the cost at more than 1,129 million euros. An escalation of costs that, according to the original agreement between the parties, is covered by a mechanism linked to national highway tolls. Transformation. When the tunnel is completed, it will allow the creation of new green areas (10 hectares, distributed in three public parks) and pedestrian routes that reconnect the city center with the sea. In the San Benigno area, on the new railway gallery already in use, the Lantern Park will be built, which will connect that sector with the city’s historic lighthouse through a bicycle and pedestrian path. In Xataka | Mexico touches the sky with a new and elegant skyscraper of 484 meters and 99 floors: it will be the tallest in all of Latin America

The gigantic Mayrit tunnel boring machine makes its way through the underground of Madrid to transform Metro L11

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It started on March 26 and in just over a month it has already left behind the first 200 meters of tunnel under the capital’s subsoil. The Mayrit tunnel boring machine advances towards Madrid Río with the objective of completing more than 5,200 meters of gallery before the end of 2027. And all to prepare the ground for the transformation of Metro L11. full throttle. The first month was slower than usual because the TBM was still in the adjustment phase. So has explained it the Department of Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid. And those first 200 meters have been drilled with the machine still running. However, from now on, Mayrit will reach its cruising speed: between 400 and 500 meters per month, which is equivalent to about 15 meters per day. What exactly is he doing underground. In addition to excavating (logically), as its cutting wheel, equipped with 54 discs, 172 picks and 24 battens, crushes the ground, the machine also places rings of concrete segments that form the final structure of the tunnel. At the same time, extracts about 3,500 tons of earth per day through conveyor belts that extend to the surface, where a hundred and a half trucks are responsible for transporting this material to landfills and disused mining operations. Transfer to the capital. Assembling a 98-meter-long, 1,500-ton machine at a depth of 27 meters is not a simple process. Mayrit was manufactured for 20 months in the German city of Schwana and traveled 2,000 kilometers by land and sea until reaching Madrid. Once here, it took 70 workers three months to assemble it piece by piece inside the future Comillas station. When does it stop and why? Mayrit works tirelessly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in continuous shifts. But has scheduled stops. The first will be when it arrives at the future Madrid Río station, 1,114 meters from Comillas. There it will undergo a technical review of up to two weeks. Then he will repeat the process in Palos de la Frontera, Atocha and, finally, Conde de Casal. It can also stop at any intermediate point if any part needs replacement, which is scheduled approximately every 1,000 meters. The final destination and when it will arrive. The total route entrusted to Mayrit is 5,227 meters between Comillas and Conde de Casal, where the future interchange is located. The general director of Collective Transport Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, Miguel Núñez, estimated In statements collected by 20 Minutes that the complete excavation will take between 13 and 14 months. With startup at the end of March, that puts the end of drilling around May or June 2027. Opening to the public will take a few more months, once installations, equipment and testing are completed. The work behind the tunnel boring machine. To complete this section 32,000 tons of steel will be needed210,000 cubic meters of concrete and more than 25,000 segments, whose production began in September 2025 in a factory created expressly for this project. The overall progress of the works already exceeds 50%, according to the City Council, and the investment in this phase amounts to more than 740 million euros. The biggest project behind it. All of this is just a part of something much bigger. The future Line 11 will travel 33.5 kilometers from end to end of Madrid, from Cuatro Vientos to Valdebebas, with 20 stations that will connect points such as Atocha, the airport, Zendal Hospital or the future Formula 1 circuit in Ifema. The complete route can be done in one hour and six minutes. The total investment exceeds 2.5 billion euros and the works will be carried out in four phases until 2031. Cover image | Community of Madrid In Xataka | From devouring diesel to being 100% electric: the incredible transformation of a 650-ton mining excavator in India

Companies that made “boring” chips are riding the dollar

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In any sports team there are starters and substitutes. The headlines are usually the big stars, who capture all the attention. The substitutes are the ones who go out to do the job when it’s time, without making so much noise. That same universe of ‘Zidanes and Pavones‘is in the world of computer components and, if the chips of Intel, Nvidia, amd either TSMC They are the Zidanes, the Pavones are, indisputably, the chips of Texas Instruments. And the accounts are coming out. Texas Instruments. It is one of the most evident cases of how profitable it is to live outside the hype. Texas Instruments is the ‘Paco Bearings’ of technology, a company that has been manufacturing chips for decades that we have in a multitude of devices, but that do not make noise with specifications. Are very specific chips to carry out very specific tasks, and if in February we already said that They were dropping their wallets to acquire companies like Silicon Labs (an American company that also makes ‘boring chips’), now we have to echo the accounts. Revenue for the first quarter of the year they reached 4.8 billion dollars, 19% more year-on-year and exceeding expectations. And, precisely, what has increased the most year after year has been the number of chips for data centers. Boring chips in AI. Think about the chips in your washing machine, but also in the refrigerator, in a smart speaker or even in wireless headphones. It also makes other types of chips: those that control power, isolate signals and manage faults. And those are the ones who are making gold in the age of AI. GPUs and CPUs are the star chips of a data center, but others are needed to do the most basic work: power, control, interfaces and protection. Texas Instruments manufactures and sells these chips, and they are what allow a GPU or CPU to run stably in racks. Putting it down, if Nvidia or AMD put the ‘brains’ in the data centers, Texas Instruments provides the nervous system. And this is tremendously profitable since, in the breakdown by segments, although Texas Instruments’ industrial chip segment increased by 30% year-on-year, that of data centers grew 90%, representing approximately 11% of the company’s income. The ARM case. Another interesting case is what processors are experiencing. AI needs are shifting from GPU power for training to CPU efficiency for efficiency. In the era of Agentic AIit is estimated that more CPUs will be needed in data centers in what has already been dubbed the ‘CPU renaissance’. Intel is adapting to it and the market is rewarding a historic processor: Arm Holdings. On March 24, presented AGI CPU, ARM’s first proprietary processor for data centers. It is optimized to precisely run large inference workloads, such as the aforementioned agentic artificial intelligence. Manufactured in a 3-nanometer TSCM process, it has 136 cores per chip and a performance that promises to be double that of conventional x86 processors. AND co-developed with Meta, one of the most interested in stopping depending on Nvidia. Market confidence is at its highest and share prices have shot up to all-time highs. In fact, the graph of ARM and Texas Instruments is extremely similar over the last five years. Those of memory, to their ball. In parallel, there are other companies that do not create the processors to ‘move’ the AI, but rather the memory for the most powerful GPUs on the market. They are invisible chips, but unlike Texas Instruments, their presence in data centers is notable for a very simple reason: they are those same memory companies that have stopped making memory for consumers, focusing almost all of their production on data centers. SK Hynix record a 405% growth in its operating profit in the first quarter of the year, something driven by HBM memories and DRAM for AI. Samsung, more of the same, earning more in three months than during all of last year. The question is the same as in recent months: how long will this growth last and whether investment in data center equipment has a ceiling. And what will happen when that ceiling is reached. Images | Victorgrigas, Raimond Spekking In Xataka | NVIDIA has so much money that it is becoming something different: the largest startup incubator in the world

Australia has a problem: extremely boring and monotonous roads. And it also has a solution: sign trivia

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If you drive on Australian roads you may come across unusual signs and we are not talking about the kangaroos warning (that also), but the one that warns you that you are about to cross the “90 Mile Straight“, a stretch of almost 150 kilometers in a straight line that means spending just under two hours without turning the steering wheel. Or a sign that directly throws you a random question typical of Trivial. The objective is that your brain does not disconnect because on such a monotonous route, boredom can be lethal. In fact, Australia has some of the most dangerous roads in the world and it is not because of their poor condition or their dizzying curves, quite the opposite: they are too long, too straight and too empty. So the country is exploring different solutions to avoid this potentially deadly drowsiness. Boring Australian roads. All of these roads have decent pavement, a predictable layout, a landscape with little variation and little traffic, a recipe for disaster: The Eyre Highway takes the cake: it connects Western Australia with South Australia across the plain Nullarbor Plain (which takes its name from the Latin: treeless) between Balladonia and Caiguna: 200,000 square kilometers of limestone land with hardly any vegetation or hills. A 146.6 km straight line without a single curve that you have to travel at 110 km/h (the legal limit in most of the country). After the Saudi Arabia Highway 10is the second longest straight road in the world. The Stuart Highway It crosses the center of the continent from north to south, from Darwin to Port Augusta, traveling more than 2,700 kilometers inland on a fairly simple route that also crosses the Northern Territory. There it has large stretches through northern areas with distances up to 252 kilometers Between gas stations, temperatures of up to 45 °C are reached and a landscape monotony that has little to envy of the Nullarbor. In fact, one of the roads with the highest rate of fatigue accidents in the country, according to the Australian government. The Barkly Highway It connects Queensland to the Northern Territory via the Barkly Tableland, a flat, arid plateau where the road stretches almost straight for hundreds of kilometres. The extreme heat, the total absence of shade and the sections without signage or rest areas make it a minefield for those who travel through it. The Flinders Highway Also in Queensland it runs through the interior of the state for more than 800 kilometers. It connects Townsville with the interior through a repetitive landscape, with little traffic and long distances between towns, the ideal breeding ground for boredom. At night it is even worse. The danger of road hypnosis. The highway hypnosis or white line fever is more than just being bored and drowsy: it is an altered mental state that allows you to continue driving, responding to basic stimuli and maintaining speed, but without being aware of what you are doing. Simply put: put your brain on automatic mode. science has an explanation: Flat, straight roads with little landscape variation produce a chronic deficiency of sensory stimulation, reducing alertness to dangerously low levels, causing drowsiness and inattention. This study on the phenomenon explains that cognitive fatigue reaches its peak just 20 minutes after entering that monotonous environment, much sooner than it might seem, even for those who are driving. When the brain warns, it has already been on autopilot for a while. The consequences can be tragic: unconscious speed increases or a minimal reaction capacity that already causes havoc. In Australia, fatigue while driving is four times more likely as a cause of this road hypnosis than drugs or alcohol. In Queensland, it accounts for 20 to 30% of road deaths. A15, Queensland. Via Google Maps Trivia on signs. The solution that Australian authorities have been implementing for years is so simple that it is shocking: posters with a question and answer game. As you enter one of those boringly dangerous areas, you come across a yellow sign that warns: “Fatigue Zone. Trivia Games Help You Stay Alert” (Fatigue zone. Trivia games to help you stay alert). From that moment on, you will find signs scattered along the route several kilometers away with a question and his corresponding response. Example: Question: Who was the first Premier of Queensland? Answer: Robert Herbert. And so on. The cognitive mechanism is exactly what science describes: introducing an unexpected and irrelevant stimulus for driving that forces the brain to come off autopilot. So the driver has to read, process the question, remember and, if there is a co-driver, even debate the answer. And then wait to see the solution a little later. A simple but effective way to activate the mind. Each question and answer is glued to the panel and secured with a padlock, allowing them to be renewed. And does it work? Well, probably yes, but no one has rigorously measured it. However, in theory the mechanism is supported by neuroscience. Professor Narelle Haworth, Director of the Center for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland, endorses his presence: “Always doing the same thing, without much stimulation, causes a decrease in alertness (…) The idea of ​​trivia games on the road is to keep drivers more attentive… perhaps a passenger who knows the answer will start a conversation.” But Haworth herself acknowledges that although the objective is in line with road safety research, there is no study that has specifically analyzed the impact of the signs. In addition, it has its limitations: the signs lose effectiveness with those who travel the same route frequently and already know all the questions. And obviously they have a quite common risk in these times: Someone might think to look at their cell phone to look for the answer. And in any case, it does not replace rest. Triple animal sign. Bahnfrend, Wikimedia Trivia by dropper. This measure started in 2012 by the Queensland Transport Administration with the aim of “helping drivers … Read more

China has been pushing the boundaries of engineering for years. Its gigantic high-speed tunnel boring machine has just given another example

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China has been developing large infrastructures and its own machinery to execute them for years, with projects that tend to stand out for their size and the technical control they require. It is not just about building more, but about doing so under increasingly demanding conditions. This pattern is repeated in very different areas, from energy to scientific research, and also in transport infrastructure. Under this logic, the appearance of new machines and projects is not an exception, but rather the continuation of a clear trend that now adds a new chapter with the “Linghang” tunnel boring machine. The advance. “Linghang” has completed the section under the Yangtze Riverwith a continuous excavation of just over 11 kilometers, according to CCTV. The machine began its journey on April 29, 2024 from Chongming Island, in Shanghai, and after 23 months of work, it completed the underwater section of the river, surpassed the south dam and came ashore in Taicang, in Jiangsu province. The movement is not minor: it involves completing the section under the watercourse, one of the key points of the work, and leaving the project one step away from its next milestone. What’s behind. The operation is integrated into the tunnel Chongming-Taicanga key work within the Shanghai-Nanjing section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed corridor. With a total length of 14.25 kilometers, this infrastructure brings together several technical milestones, including the world’s longest single head excavation distance in a high-speed tunnel, with 11.32 kilometers, and a maximum depth of 89 meters under the Yangtze. The design contemplates the passage of trains at 350 km/h even in the underground section. The machine inside. The tunnel boring machine used in this project has unusual dimensions even within this type of work: it measures about 148 meters in length and weighs around 4,000 tons. according to Global Times. It is equipped with an intelligent control system called I-TBM, designed to automatically manage a large part of the excavation process, from internal pressure to the forward position or the exit of the material. Added to this are elements such as high-pressure seals, a long-lasting main bearing and a cutting head prepared to withstand demanding conditions under the river. A project that is not an isolated case. In recent years, the country has built facilities such as the Three Gorges Dam, the FAST telescope either the EAST reactorprojects that, although they belong to different areas, share the same base: scale, technical control and own development. In this context, this type of machinery is best understood not as a specific milestone, but as one more piece within a sustained line of work. A close reference. In Spain, the Mayrit tunnel boring machine, currently in use in the expansion of line 11 of the Madrid Metrooffers a useful point of comparison to understand the magnitude of this type of machinery. Measuring about 98 meters in length, weighing around 1,500 tons and with a diameter close to 9 meters, it is a large piece of equipment within the European context. Images | CCTV In Xataka | Czechia wanted to build a highway and found a problem: an intact 2,000-year-old Celtic city

The tunnel between Spain and Morocco seemed like a chimera. Now a tunnel boring machine manufacturer says it is viable

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The idea of ​​connecting Europe and Africa directly is something that takes century and a half fluttering the mind of leaders and engineers. The simplest way would be to connect Spain and Morocco through the Strait of Gibraltar, and what for decades was considered a chimera due to its complexity, today is a little closer. And the company that would make the tunnel boring machine He defends that “it is viable.” In short. I told it Populi Voice a few days ago. Óscar Puente -Minister of Transport- and Karim Zidane -Delegate Minister of Investments, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies of Morocco- they met in Moncloa to discuss the infrastructure expansion plan of the North African country. Puente conveyed to the Moroccan minister the interest of the Spanish business sector in participating in an ambitious project that plans to expand its high speed network up to 1,300 km by 2040. The meeting discussed infrastructure such as ports and airports, but the strategic backdrop is the vaunted tunnel that links Spain and Morocco. Centennial project. The union of Europe and Africa through a direct connection between Spain and Morocco is something that comes from afar. The same thing happens with the ‘Peace’ project that aims to unite the United States and Russiabut as in the case of the tunnel with Morocco, it has not yet materialized. In 1869, the Public Works Council already tested the possibility of connecting both continents through Gibraltar. The proposal ended up in the drawer, but over the yearsdifferent technicians and rulers have rescued it with a “we could do this.” There is a clear commercial interest both in mobility of people (the “passage operations” add many vehicles crossing by ferry) as commercial (improvement in relations between the United Kingdom and Morocco, the country from which they buy fruit). “Viable“However, although with some plan in between, nothing was finalized. Something has changed: a German company called Herrenknech affirms that the tunnel is viable. They are not just any company: it is one of those that leads in the manufacturing of tunnel boring machines -or boring machines- and, after a feasibility study commissioned by the Spanish company SECEGSAhave stated that the project is “technologically viable” after the reactivation and promotion of a few years ago and socioeconomic analysis published in 2024. It really isn’t that much distance that would have to be covered. In other parts of the world, such as northern europe or in China, we see similar underwater railway tunnel projects of considerable length. The particularity of the Strait of Gibraltar tunnel is not so much the length (it would have to cover about 40 kilometers underground and underwater), but rather the characteristics of the territory. Characteristics: the tunnel profile would be the following: Distance between terminal stations: 42 kilometers. Total length of the tunnel: 38.5 kilometers. Length of the underwater tunnel: 27.7 kilometers. Minimum range at the lowest point: 175 meters. Maximum depth: 475 meters. Slope: 3%. Complex. The geology of the strait is very complicated because it has numerous areas of unstable clay, but also very strong marine currents and the presence of earthquakes. Any slight mistake when carrying out calculations or using unsuitable materials would cause a catastrophe. This is where Herrenknech comes into play as one of the few companies with the capacity to design specific machines that can operate in these conditions. Apparently, they themselves confess that it would be a challenge, but that a route through the Camarinan Threshold (which is longer than a straight line, but also shallower) could be done with current engineering. and expensive. Viable, yes, cheap… no. According to the information of Populi Voicethe base bidding budget corresponding to the Spanish part would exceed 8.5 billion euros. HE wait that part will be paid for with community funds thanks to concessions similar to those of the Channel Tunnel. And the international implications would be tremendous, linking Rabat and Madrid, directly, by train. It’s going to be long. For a time it was expected that the 2030 World Cup that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-organize was the catalyst for this project, but the times simply do not allow it. It would be extremely complicated for the tunnel to be operational by 2030 when we only have a “it is possible” from the company that manufactures tunnel boring machines and, in fact, the estimated deadlines speak of a tunnel within a decade or more. Now, what was considered a chimera for decades is now have a realistic performance goal between 2035 and 2040 is an important step forward. But there is a lack of work, money and crucial international coordination to achieve the objective of this tunnel between Spain and Morocco. The next step? Carry out new studies shared between countries on seismic activity, possible tsunamis and the behavior of the maritime corridor, as well as a technical planning which must be done before August of next year. What is clear is that it seems more viable than the dam-bridge that someone proposed a few years ago. Images | SECEGSA (2), Moncloa In Xataka | Modern tunnel boring machines are real monsters compared to those of 1950. The paradox is that they are just as slow

The enormous Mayrit tunnel boring machine on Metro L11 is already in Madrid. Now comes the real challenge: putting it together piece by piece

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In Madrid there are already the pieces of one of the largest machines that will work in the city’s underground in the coming years. It is about Mayritthe EPB tunnel boring machine 98 meters long and 1,500 tons in weight whose transport started in Germany, continued along the Rhine to Rotterdam and continued by boat to the port of Santander. After that journey, a special convoy has completed more than 450 kilometers by road to take its modules to the future Comillas station, where it will prepare to excavate the new section of Line 11 between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal. The work on which Mayrit will work is part of a broader intervention that the Community of Madrid describes in 2025 as the largest expansion of the Metro network in the last decade. Official data published in November put progress at 34% and maintain a budget of 518 million euros to complete the new section and the planned stations. The regional government maintains the year 2027 as a reference to close this phase of the project. Mayrit is already in Madrid: one hour left to convert its parts into a single operational machine When dealing with a machine of this size and complexity, each phase of the process requires precision that goes far beyond conventional engineering. Mayrit’s journey towards Spain began long before it appeared on the road: it started in Schwanau, the German town where Herrenknecht completed its manufacturing after about 20 months of work. There, more than a thousand kilometers from Madrid, the tunnel boring machine It was assembled for the first time in June 2025 to carry out initial verifications. This assembly showed the magnitude of the next step: converting the machine into a set of parts capable of traveling around Europe without risks. Disassembling it was not a quick procedure. For the next two months, Herrenknecht teams dedicated themselves to separating each module following a sequence calculated to the millimeter. The result was a set of sections ready to begin an international tour. The disembarkation in the port of Santander marked the beginning of the last stage of Mayrit’s journey, a phase that requires coordination very different from that of river and maritime transport. The pieces arrived distributed in separate shipments and were transferred to prepared platforms, a process that is carried out with specialized equipment to avoid any unexpected displacement. The organization of the road transfer incorporated common protocols in special transport, with large-tonnage vehicles escorted by technical teams in charge of checking clearances, turning radii and urban accesses. The authorities confirmed that the advance was carried out mainly at night to reduce interruptions and facilitate maneuvers in the most delicate sections of the route. The arrival in the Comillas area required a final deployment of personnel and machinery to accommodate each piece in the work area, where the assembly phase that will transform this set of modules into a single operational tunnel boring machine is already awaiting. The arrival of the pieces also marks the beginning of a phase that, according to forecasts distributed between June and November 2025, can extend until March 2026. Assembling a TBM requires joining modules in a strict order, connecting hydraulic and electrical systems, and performing tests that are concentrated between late January and February. It is a sequential process that is not resolved in a few days and that determines the date on which the machine will be able to start digging at the beginning of March. The official documentation describes Mayrit as an EPB machine adapted to the geotechnical characteristics of the layout. Its operation is based on maintaining a balance of pressures that prevents unwanted movements on the surface, especially relevant in urban environments. To sustain this process, shifts of specialists are involved who manage the control and evacuation systems of the excavated material. The expected performanceclose to 15 meters per day, will be decisive in setting the pace of mechanized advance. Comillas will be the point from which Mayrit will begin the mechanized sectionaccording to the forecasts that the Community of Madrid has been detailing since June 2025. From there it will advance to Conde de Casalwhile in parallel the manual excavation of about 700 meters towards Plaza Elíptica progresses, started in September with a performance of close to 50 meters per month. The beginning of the excavation will mark the jump between the preparatory work and the actual progress of the tunnel that will transform this section of Line 11. With each meter excavated, the planned layout will get closer to its final shape and will allow the progress of the project to be measured more clearly. It is a significant element within regional planning to reinforce mobility in one of the areas with the most demand on the network. Images | Community of Madrid In Xataka | Malaga has become a magnet for the most luxurious yachts in the world: the latest, that of the co-founder of Google

A 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine is already traveling to Madrid to drill the new Line 11

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“Notify when you leave and when you arrive” Mayrit has already done the first. The second will be in more or less a month when all the pieces are already on Spanish soil. Mayrit is not the youngest son of a family. Mayrit has many fathers and mothers. Many. Those necessary to give life to a 1,500 ton tunnel boring machine. That tunnel boring machine that will directly expand line 11 of the Madrid Metro. A line that, until now, has been excavated with much more traditional means and that of course will take a huge leap forward in its future projection with this gigantic and enormous artifact. What’s coming, what’s coming Connecting Cuatro Vientos, southwest of the capital, with Valedebebas, northeast of it, Line 11 wants to become in one of those star connections in Madrid. Tracing a diagonal, the intention is to convert what is currently just seven stations into one of Madrid’s great corridors. The qualitative and quantitative leap in the progress of the works will be made by Mayrit. This gigantic tunnel boring machine weighs 1,500 tons and is 98 meters long. It is expected that each day about 15 meters can be advanced on the land, key in a line that will have stations 33 meters below ground from Madrid. My colleague Javier Márquez explained a few months ago that the transfer is not easy. The machine is built by Herrenknecht AGa German company that has assembled the entire gigantic puzzle of pieces, screws and components in its country. Once assembled, the machine is cut into pieces to be sent to our country. Of course, “it won’t be quick or easy,” as my partner explained. Now we know that the powerful tunnel boring machine has already set out on its way to Spain. It comes by land and sea. And the bulk of its pieces will arrive in Santander by boat where they will board land transport to reach the capital. Another good package of these pieces will arrive at the port of Valencia, originating in Venice. Map of the new Line 11 Once the pieces arrive, they must be transported to Carabanchel. There, next to Plaza Elpítica, this monster will drill into the ground at a rate of 500 meters per month to connect with Conde de Casal, about six kilometers from the point of origin. This stage is considered one of the most problematic and complex. Until now, the connection between Parque de Comillas (which will have a new station) and Plaza Elíptica is being done by hand. However, the transfer and assembly is so delicate and complex that it will not be until March 2026 when everything is expected to be ready in the Madrid neighborhood to begin drilling the ground. The system is so complex because the tunnel boring machine is not only responsible for excavating the earth and disposing of what is found there. While working advancing into the subsoil, an auger transports the excavated material with a conveyor belt. This material can be washed if it encounters mud but it can also affect the stability of the ground with injections of bentonite, water or foam. All while sensors control the pressure the machine experiences to control how fast it can work. If everything happens according to the planned deadlines, the last piece from Mayrit should arrive in December and, as we said, it is not expected to come into operation until March 2026. For now, it’s time to pull the shovel and pneumatic hammer. Photo | Madrid Metro In Xataka | Faced with daily collapses, the Madrid Metro could increase frequencies or put in “pushers.” He has chosen the second

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