This is how he arrived eleven days ahead of schedule to his first big stop

The tunnel boring machine Mayrit This Tuesday, he crossed an important checkpoint in his journey to leave everything ready for expand line 11 of Metro Madrid. And it has burst into the gap of the future Madrid Río station, on Paseo de Yeserías, thus completing the first major geological section of the work, which is the crossing under the Manzanares River and the M-30 tunnels. The Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, Jorge Rodrigo, was present at the event to receive the machine.

At a good pace. At around 5:30 p.m., Mayrit starred in the cale, the technical name given to the moment when the two excavation fronts (the one that starts in Comillas and the one carried out from the Madrid Río side) meet and are aligned.

Just like they count From La Razón, first came a dull noise from the bowels of the earth, then some loose stones and, finally, the impact of the cutting head breaking the station screen. Rodrigo celebrated it as “a moment of joy and pride,” according to the media. The breakdown also occurred eleven days earlier than expected.

Numbers. Mayrit began its journey on March 26 from the future Comillas station, in Carabanchel, and in just over two months it has excavated 1,116 meters of tunnel, equivalent to 21% of the total planned for this branch. In its progress, it has installed 656 concrete rings, each one formed by seven rhomboidal-shaped voussoirs, which constitute the definitive covering of the gallery.

As well as point El Diario, to cross under the M-30 and the Manzanares, the machine had to descend following the maximum admissible slope in railway infrastructure, around 35 thousandths, and ascend again until reaching the level of the station.

Why has it gone faster than expected. The average pace has been about 15 meters per day, with peaks of up to 35 meters at the most favorable times. The general director of Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, Miguel Núñez, explained that the key has been the soil: peñuelas clay, a soft material that can be found in the underground of Madrid and that behaves “very well” under the pressure of the tunnel boring machine.

“We have doubled the theoretical yields because the geological characteristics of the soil, the latest generation machinery, and the segment rings that we have changed have made it reliable and safe to advance at that speed,” counted Núñez in statements collected by Europa Press. The change in the design of the voussoirs also helped, which became more rhomboidal in shape to improve fit and installation speed.

Qtechnical plowing. For the next two weeks, the machine will remain housed in the future Madrid Río station. And this Tuesday only the head has arrived, since the remaining 98 meters of the tunnel boring machine will finish entering in the coming days. The idea is that it undergoes an in-depth review. Technicians will replace the most worn cutting head tools, check all computer and structural systems, and get the machine ready for the next leg.

The next stage is the longest. Once reviewed, Mayrit will head to the Palos de la Frontera station, its next stop, 1,613 meters away, which is the longest stretch between two stations in the entire expansion. The Ministry’s forecast is that it will arrive there before the end of the summer. Then it will continue towards Atocha and, finally, Conde de Casal, which is the end point of the branch. In total, Mayrit still has more than 4,100 meters ahead of the 5,227 planned between Comillas and Conde de Casal.

The seasons. In addition to the front of the tunnel boring machine, it should be noted that the works at the Comillas, Madrid Río and Palos de la Frontera stations are around 70% completed, while Atocha is at 50%. According to they count from 20 Minutos, Madrid Río, specifically, has three levels that reach more than 20 meters deep. The overall progress of the entire work now exceeds 45%.

The project in perspective. This section is just one piece of a much larger scheme. As already we have reviewed other times, the investment in this phase exceeds 740 million euros and Line 11 is designed to become the great diagonal of the Madrid Metro network: 33.5 kilometers from Cuatro Vientos to Valdebebas, with 20 stations, connecting points such as Atocha, the airport or the future Formula 1 circuit in Ifema.

The total investment in the project exceeds 2.5 billion euros and the works will be carried out in phases until 2031. The General Director of Infrastructure estimates that the complete excavation will take between 13 and 14 months, which would place the end of drilling around May or June 2027.

Cover image | Metro Madrid and Community of Madrid

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