Madrid, March 27 – The ‘Mayrit’ super-tunneling machine, a colossal piece of engineering, has officially begun its work on the future Metro Line 11 in Madrid. Activated yesterday by President Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the machine marks a new era in the region’s infrastructure development, promising an unprecedented pace of excavation.
Mayrit: A Game-Changer for Madrid’s Underground
Weighing 1,500 tons and stretching 98 meters in length, the ‘Mayrit’ is the most powerful tunneling machine ever used in Madrid. It has the capacity to accommodate 22 operators simultaneously, fundamentally altering the landscape of Madrid’s underground. President Ayuso inaugurated the drilling of the tunnel from the future Comillas station, highlighting the machine’s ability to operate at a speed ten times faster than previous methods.
While earlier sections of the Metro advanced at a rate of 10 meters per month, ‘Mayrit’ will surpass this daily. In an eight-hour shift, it will excavate over 5.5 meters, and within 24 hours, approximately 15 meters. This translates to an impressive 500 meters of advancement each month towards Conde de Casal. This initial nearly six-kilometer stretch between Comillas and Conde de Casal is just the beginning of the ambitious 33-kilometer ‘Great Diagonal’ of the future Line 11, which will connect with all existing Metro branches.
A Global Reference in Tunneling Technology
President Ayuso, accompanied by the Minister of Transport, Jorge Rodrigo, and senior Metro officials, lauded ‘Mayrit’ as “a global reference in underground drilling technology, an engineering masterpiece. Once it starts, it’s unstoppable.” The activation of the machine at a depth of 30 meters was met with the sound of sirens and the rumble of ‘Mayrit’ as it began to carve through the rock, producing the first fragments of clay. The moment was met with applause and emotion, with some even glancing at the image of Santa Bárbara, the patron saint of miners, prominently displayed at the site.
The journey of ‘Mayrit’ to this point has spanned several years. It was designed and built in southern Germany, tailored to Madrid’s specific geological characteristics. The machine was then disassembled and transported, first via the Rhine and then the Cantabrian Sea to Santander. From there, dozens of trucks carried its components in pieces over several months to Carabanchel. Its assembly in the depths of Comillas Park began at Christmas with millimeter precision, and it is now excavating the first galleries of the future Metro, with a potential opening date for Line 11 set for 2031.
The Inner Workings of ‘Mayrit’
The underground symphony of noise and dust, which authorities assure will be imperceptible to nearby residents, is orchestrated by 54 ‘rippers’ (discs) that collect debris, and a six-kilometer-long conveyor belt that transports it away. The machine will only pause every thousand meters for maintenance and replacement of these essential parts. As it advances, the tunneling machine itself seals the excavated cavity with large concrete segments, forming the rings of the tunnel.
For this specific section, an estimated 32,000 tons of steel, over 210,000 cubic meters of concrete, and 25,000 voussoirs will be used to close and reinforce the tunnel.
Source: elMundo.es
