PAJARES TUNNELSPAJARES TUNNELSPAJARES TUNNELSPAJARES TUNNELS

2 Hard Rock TBMs of Ø 9.89 m

T

STRUCTURE

THE PARTICIPANTS:

OVERALL PROJECT:

he section of the new high speed line

between León and Gijón in the north of Spain

will link the capital Madrid to the Costa Verde,

thereby opening up Asturias.

The existing line, for goods only, has become

obsolete.

Trains on it were restricted to 70 km/h, with the

average speed never exceeding 50 km/h.

The new route passes through the Cantabrian

Mountains. Given the demanding the

environmental requirements, this section must

be built underground.

Two parallel tunnels will be built over a length

of 24.6 km using conventional methods in

addition to the tunnel-boring machine (TBM).

The project is divided up into 4 lots which

have been entrusted to Spanish companies.

NFM Technologies have supplied 2 hard-rock

machines for lots 1 and 3.

Lot 1 consists of one 10.4-km twin-tube tunnel

at the south end of the project in the direction

of León.

One of the 2 north tunnels, in the direction of

Oviedo, accounts for lot 3, with a length of

10.3 km.

Tunnels built using NFM TBMs

Length to be dug: 10.4 km

Lot 1 Lot 3Length to be dug: 10.3 km

Terrain: sandy shale, limestone,clay,

pockets of methane

Covering: > 1000 m

Diameter of the finished structure:8.5 m

Hydrology: water tables

Contractor:Lot 1: FCC/NECSO Lot 3: FERROVIAL/SACYR/CAVOSA Operator:ADIF

Pajares Tunnels

Lot 1 section bored using

NFM Technologies TBM

Lot 3 section bored using

NFM Technologies TBM

THE TUNNELLING MACHINES

•Type: hard rock, single shield

•Cutter head: mobile in 3 directions

(axially and transversally)

•Extensible diameter from 9.88 m to 10.08 m

•Cutting tools: 17” disc cutters

•Because of the presence of pockets of methane and water infiltrations,

the machines are provided with systems:

- for detecting and protecting against explosion,

- for removing water

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MACHINES

NFM TECHNOLOGIESTunnelling Machines Division: 90, rue Robert – 69456 LYON Cedex 06 - France

Phone: +33 426 848 752 - Fax +33 426 848 716 - E-mail: contact@nfm-technologies.com

Website: www.nfm-technologies.com

THE JOB SITE

GEOLOGICAL PROFILE

Lot 3

Set of the first ring:

lot 1: september 2005

Lot 3: march 2006

• Excavation diameter: 9.88 m

• Total length: 180 m

• Total weight: 1 285 t

• Installed power: 7 900 kVA

SHIELD:

• Diameter: 11.36 m

• Weight: 1 150 t

• Thrust: 120 000 kN

• Max. forward speed: 4 cm/min

CUTTER HEAD:

• Drive system: 8 x 200 kN

• Power: 1 600 kW

• Rotation speed: 0 to 2.3 rpm

DRIVE SYSTEM:

• Max. nominal torque: 13 650 kN.m

• Max. release torque: 17 745 kN.m

LimestoneSandstone & slate Sandstone & lutite Sandstone