SECTION 2 OF THE FIRST RAILWAY ON THE ISLAND OF GRAN CANARIA

A challenge in underground engineering SENER is writing for Gran Canaria Railways (FGC) the Basic and Constructive Project of the second section of the line between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Maspalomas.

This line, also designed in general terms by SENER also in joint venture with the insular La Roche Consulting company, is the first railway on the island with a planned investment of more than 1,300 million euros. The line runs along the eastern side of the island where the demographic and economic power are greater. It has a total length of 60 km and 9 stations among them we should bring out the three located in Las Palmas, the one at the airport, and the one on the main tourist area of the island, south of the line. The travel time is due to last 35 minutes.

The section 2 whose project has been awarded for an amount of 1,620,165, 18 euros, is the most complex of the 7 in which the FGC has divided the bidding. It consists of 9 km in length which run entirely underground, 5 of them under the island’s capital. The section runs between San Telmo Station, main bus station in the city and future intermodal station, and Jinámar and it has another intermediate station: Hospitales. This station is key because it gives access to the largest hospital complex on the island.

The excavation of the tunnel will be done through a boring machine in their first Client: Ferrocarriles de Gran 3 km and the other conventional means. In those first three kilometers drilling Canaria materials shall consist mostly of volcanic tuffs with a high hydrostatic head, Country: Spain which together with the determinant of urban character of the area through which it flows, the Southern Cone of the city of Las Palmas, suggest to use a Start date: 2010 TBM with pressure on the front. The remaining materials are phonolites drilling debris and materials suitable to be excavated by conventional means.

The project represents a technical challenge not only due to the difficulties inherent in any underground work but because in this case different aspects match up and make it unique among them we must highlight the innovation performance of large-section by tunnel boring machines in the islands, and major technical difficulties in the excavation near the sea and under the urban network of the city.