Gibraltar Tunnel
 The task to be carried out consists of a profound revision of a preliminary design, done 10 years ago, for a double railway tunnel (plus a service gallery) between the coasts of Spain and Morocco, approximately 40 km long (28 of which are under the sea, with draughts of up to 300 m) and the corresponding terminals in each country as well as the connections between the terminals and the tunnel.
Topographic, geological-geotechnical and maritime conditions are extremely demanding, due to the fact that materials in the area are of poor geotechnical quality, and likely to be permeable, located in the solid rock to be drilled, 300 m deep under the sea, according to all the investigations carried out in the area from years back and, particularly, since the last deep-sea soundings.
Revising the preliminary design includes redefining the ground-terminals, the facilities and the tunnel’s rail and non-rail equipment; defining mobile material, considering the latest experiences in similar works; and updating the investment and the operating-costs budget. |
Guadarrama Tunnels:
Spain’s largest railway tunnel
 TYPSA is carrying out the control and surveillance of infrastructure & track works at section Soto del Real-Segovia, corresponding to the new railway access to the north and north-west of Spain. The works are unique, both because of their record-breaking length as for their strategic importance towards developing Spain’s High-Speed Railway Network. This section starts at the tunnel’s south-eastern tip which goes across the Guadarrama Mountain range (28,377 meters long).
The tunnel is 29 km long, with a diameter of 8.50 m. There is a gallery connecting to the parallel tunnel every 250 meters. Tunnel covering consists of rings with a base dowel made from six dowels plus a closing dowel 32 cm thick and with an inside radius of 8,500 mm. |
