The Community of Madrid is putting the finishing touches to the arrival of the Mayrit tunnel boring machine, which will join the Metro Line 11 extension works from December. This was confirmed today by the Regional Minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, during his visit to the Herrenknecht AG factory in Schwanau, Germany, where this state-of-the-art machine has been built before beginning the procedure for its transfer to the Spanish capital. 

Specifically, it is an EPB (Earth Preasure Balance) type TBM, which has been specifically designed for the geotechnical and geological characteristics of the terrain on which it is to be used. An engineering landmark 98 metres long and weighing 1,500 tonnes, it has been built over the last 20 months and is capable of drilling up to 15 metres per day. 

In this sense, Rodrigo stressed that "Mayrit will become a witness and symbol of an important period of development in the region. Its arrival represents the regional government's commitment to public transport and the expansion of the Madrid underground." In this regard, he recalled the recently opened connection of Line 3 between Villaverde Alto and El Casar, and the extension of L5 from Alameda de Osuna and Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport.

The dimensions of the drilling machine make it necessary to dismantle its parts in order to move it to the Community of Madrid. Once this process has been completed, which may take the next three months, it will begin its journey, including transfers by boat to the Port of Santander and then by lorry to its first destination, the future Comillas station, in the district of Carabanchel. "Its assembly in the Spanish capital can be extended until March 2026, meeting the deadline for it to start operating," Rodrigo added. 

At present, work on Line 11 is progressing well on the section between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal and is already 18.4% complete. The regional government will invest €518 million in this phase of the project.