The Merritt Tunnel Boring Machine that will do most of the jobs Extension of Line 11 (L11) of the Madrid Metro between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal It already exists in Spain. The bulk of the mechanical parts of the machine, which had to be dismantled for transportation because it was 98 meters long and weighed 1,500 tons, arrived on Monday at the port of Santander after completing a long river and sea crossing from the German city of Schwanau, where its construction was completed last June after 20 months of work.
The journey from Merritt to the mountainous capital was not easy, and the Ministry of Transport was forced to design a logistical plan unprecedented in recent decades. From the facilities of the Herrenknecht AG engineering plant in Schwanau, containers containing TBM parts continued Along the Rhine to Rotterdamin the Netherlands. At this port, the machines boarded a ship, crossed the North Sea, crossed the English Channel, and crossed part of the Atlantic Ocean to dock at Santander.
From there its final stage will head to the capital, and more specifically, to Comillas Park, in Carabanchel, where the machine will be assembled and start digging the tunnel, as expected, in March 2026. The last transport of Mairet will be by road: A special transport convoy, 60 meters long, will be formedWhich will be three articulated buses in a row, which will cross the northern plateau on the A-1 road.
But not all tunnel boring machine parts will arrive from the north of the peninsula: Some very specific batches were manufactured in Venice (Italy) They arrived in Spain via the port of Valencia after traveling across the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean and making a final journey by truck along the A-3 motorway from the capital, Turia.
Due to its size and construction outside of Spain and in different locations, Merritt’s move required “millimeter” planning.According to what they say from the transportation department run by Jorge Rodrigo. “Each convoy must adhere to strict safety rules, travel thousands of kilometers across several countries and coordinate with local authorities to ensure smooth passage,” they detail the logistics.
The remaining road trips will be carried out until the pieces reach Madrid Especially at night and accompanied by artistic escorts Who will supervise every movement so that nothing fails. The same sources explained about the transport operation, which was coordinated by the General Directorate of Mass Transport Infrastructure led by Miguel Nunez, that “the entire itinerary of the trip was studied in advance to ensure that the team was able to maneuver without risks.” “Every kilometer is an example of teamwork between operators, engineers, traffic agents and European authorities: it is a slow, precise and essential journey for each piece to arrive on time and in perfect condition to its final destination,” they say.
The complexity of the process will not end when all components are in DC. In fact, at that moment what is considered in counseling The most delicate stage in the process: assembling all the pieces. In Comillas Park, the “zero point” of the L11 expansion between Plaza Elliptica and Conde de Casal, a specific area will be created for technicians and engineers to work in a coordinated way on the Merit assembly. They from the Transport Authority point out that “this work is very precise and combines heavy machinery and expert hands following a strict plan.”
For several days now, at the same construction site A large ring of seven instruments can be seen from Antonio Leyva Street. The dimensions of the tunnel that Merritt will dig at a rate of up to 15 meters per day. The administration decided to place it so that the size of the future infrastructure could be estimated, which will be approximately six kilometers long and will be complemented by the subway that thirty miners have been building “with pick and shovel” since last year between Plaza Elliptica and Comillas Park.
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