On 1 February, the new 54-kilometre section of high-speed track between Monforte del Cid and Beniel –which includes the new stations of Elche Alta Velocidad and Orihuela Miguel Hernández– was opened by the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He was accompanied by José Luis Ábalos, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, and Ximo Puig, the President of the Autonomous Community of Valencia (the image shows the three men at the station in Elche along with the mayor, Carlos González, on the right). The minister highlighted the one-hour reduction in the travel time between Elche and Madrid and the two new daily connections between Murcia and the capital.

Ineco has worked on all of the high-speed sections in the Levante region (see IT47) and this time provided Adif with a range of services, such as the drafting of plans for safety installations, construction management, technical assistance for platforms and stations, signalling and telecommunications, track assembly, overhead lines, running tests, and supervising and testing the ERTMS Level 2 system. Of particular note in this respect is the technological milestone of the commissioning of Spain’s first handover between different technologies, which took place in the triangle formed by Murcia, the Vinalopó split and Monforte del Cid. The project was implemented by CAF Signalling and makes it possible for RBC systems from two different manufacturers, Hitachi and Alstom, to hand over control of the trains passing through their respective areas of operation.

The arrival of high-speed rail in this region in northwestern Spain had its first historical milestone at the end of 2011, with the entry into operation of the 150-kilometre stretch between Ourense, Santiago and A Coruña. After the service commissioning of the line between Olmedo and Zamora in 2015, all that remained to complete the connection between Galicia and the centre of the Iberian Peninsula was the construction of three sections totalling approximately 230 kilometres: Zamora-Pedralba de la Pradería, Pedralba de la Pradería-Taboadela and Taboadela-Ourense.

The difficult route between Pedralba and Ourense

Built for the most part on two separate tracks, the 101-kilometre section between Pedralba and Ourense crosses the different mountain ranges that form the Central Ourensan Massif, a route that the AVE will be able to cover thanks to the construction of 32 viaducts and 31 tunnels, many of them bi-tube, or with one tube for each track. More than 60% of the route was either underground or over viaducts and required special works: in total, the section has almost 11 kilometres of viaducts, the longest of which is the Requejo viaduct (1.72 km), and 126 kilometres of tunnel (62.45 km on the right-hand track plus 55.87 km on the left-hand track and 7.84 km of double track), the longest being the O Corno tunnel (8.6 km).

MADRID-GALICIA HIGH-SPEED LINE. The Madrid-Galicia HSL is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ERDF/Cohesion Fund 2007-2013 and Spanish Multiregional OP 2014-2020.

The works that are covered in this report belong to this complex route between Pedralba and Ourense, which Adif Alta Velocidad constructed to provide the highest levels of railway technology, with standard-gauge double track (1,435 mm) throughout the route, and designed for speed limits of up to 350 km/h, with 2×25 kV 50 Hz alternating-current electrification, ERTMS Level 2 and Asfa traffic control systems, and a GSM-R mobile communications system.

Five of the most notable works

THIS SECTION FEATURES A NUMBER OF INFRASTRUCTURES THAT STAND OUT FOR THEIR COMPLEXITY, EITHER IN TERMS OF THE CONSTRUCTION METHODS USED, THEIR DIMENSIONS OR THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS.

1. The jacked caissons of the Requejo tunnel

Two caissons 80 and 100 metres long jacked under the conventional railway tracks complete the Requejo tunnels.

In the foreground, shoring of the track. Behind, crossways, one of the two caissons already executed. In the background, the opening of the Requejo tunnel.

Several kilometres from Pedralba, the AVE works are progressing through the mountains of the Sanabria region with several notable actions, including the construction of the caissons jacked into the Requejo tunnel, structures built in situ at the western opening of the Galicia side and jacked under the railway tracks, allowing Adif to maintain rail service on the Zamora-A Coruña national gauge line, which intersects with the new high-speed line at this point.

This intersection of the high-speed line with the conventional track was resolved by constructing two reinforced concrete caissons measuring 8.5 metres high and 8.5 metres wide on the inside, with lengths of 79.5 metres for the caisson for the right-hand track and 100.5 metres for the caisson on the left.

In their final position, the caissons form the cut and cover exits of the Requejo tunnels. The execution procedure included the shoring of the conventional track and the construction of engineering structures on a sliding platform close to their final location prior to subsequent relocation by means of a hydraulic jacking across the track to their final positions.

The shoring consisted of a metal structure that allowed the caisson to be moved without affecting the track, ensuring its stability. Due to the shoring work, trains had to run at a speed limit of 30 km/h during the works, as opposed to the normal speed of the route in this area of over 100 km/h. The speed restriction was necessary as a safety measure because the level and alignment of the track in this situation can generate movements that are not compatible with higher speeds. Given the jacking lengths, the caissons were divided longitudinally into two sections that were jacked successively, each with a corresponding battery of 15 hydraulic cylinders with a force of 300 tons per cylinder. At the same time that the successive 50- centimetre thrusts were carried out, the earth was removed by mechanical means, ensuring that the stability of the tracks was not compromised, until the structures reached their final positions.

2. The Padornelo tunnels

A high-speed tunnel built just 20 metres from the longest tunnel on the entire Spanish conventional line.

Ineco provided construction management for Adif Alta Velocidad on this 6,406-metre tunnel with a 52-square metre clear cross-section, which runs parallel to the tunnel of the Zamora-A Coruña national gauge line, and is located between the municipalities of Requejo and Lubián (Zamora), below the Padornelo mountain pass.

The Padornelo tunnel is part of the Padornelo-Lubián section, and consists of the supporting layer of the single UIC-gauge track on the right, measuring 7.6 kilometres long. The left-hand high-speed track will be executed at a later stage as part of a new project that will adapt the old 5.97-kilometre Padornelo tunnel on the Zamora-A Coruña line for mixed traffic on the left-hand high-speed track and freight on the conventional line.

Construction was carried out with conventional excavation, applying supports consisting of shotcrete, bolts and trusses. Excavation was carried out by blasting the areas with the hardest terrain and using mechanical means (backhoes, hydraulic demolition hammers, etc.) in the softer ground and terrain with lower geotechnical quality.

Execution was determined by the proximity of the tunnel on the Zamora-A Coruña conventional line. During the works, trains continued to run, so certain protocols were established to monitor for deformations in both tunnels, and reinforcements consisting of mesh and shotcrete were necessary in some sections of the old tunnel. 15 connection galleries were also built between the tunnels and an evacuation platform along the existing tunnel, to create the evacuation route necessary for the commissioning of the high-speed line. To carry out these works, the entire track was renovated with UIC 60 E1 rail, PR-01 concrete sleepers and type 1 ballast.

The works were accompanied by a series of specific environmental and landscape integration actions due to the proximity of two protected areas or sites of community importance (SCI):  the banks of the Tera and Tuela rivers and their tributaries. In this regard, different measures were agreed with the regional authorities to prevent the impact on the protected flora and fauna. One example was the treatment of water coming from the tunnel, which was subjected to different processes before being discharged into the waterway, in order to ensure that its physical and chemical parameters complied with legislation. In addition, from the beginning of the works, the waters of the rivers belonging to the aforementioned SCIs had their physical and chemical characteristics monitored and a follow-up assessment was carried on the area’s populations of Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus), brown trout (Salmo trutta), freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) and aquatic macroinvertebrates.

3. The Espiño tunnels

Two large high-speed tunnels constructed using eight simultaneous excavation fronts.

View of the western tunnel opening. The tunnels were designed to integrate with the hillside as much as possible.

The Espiño tunnels are unique in that they were excavated simultaneously from four fronts: in addition to the two end fronts, there were also two intermediate excavation fronts. To do this, an intermediate gallery was built that ended in a large cavern, from which four additional fronts could be started for excavation in the direction of Madrid and Ourense. The large number of fronts reduced the excavation times for the tunnel.

The bi-tube tunnel runs through the municipalities of A Gudiña and Vilariño de Conso in the province of Ourense. With approximately 8 kilometres on each track and connections between tunnels every 400 metres (20 emergency galleries), it is one of the largest tunnels in the section.

Both tunnels were excavated using the New Austrian tunnelling method, with top-heading and bench, from the eastern tunnel opening, from the western tunnel opening and from the intermediate galleries of attack towards both tunnel openings. The right-hand track has an exact length of 7,924 metres including 30 and 40-metre artificial tunnels in each of the openings for improved visual integration into the hillsides. The remainder (7,854 m) was mine excavated, that is, under natural terrain. The left-hand track has an excavated length of 7,838 m underground, to which 30 and 36 metres respectively were added to each of the openings as artificial or cut-and-cover tunnels, giving the left-hand Espiño tunnel a total length of 7,904 m. Cut-and-cover tunnel structures were also included for improved visual integration into the hillsides.

The presence of metal sulphides and carbonaceous matter in some slatey rock required the use of technosols to treat some of the excavated material in the waste sites. This technique made it possible to control the oxidation of these sulphides, which are capable of generating acidic water, thus creating a reducing environment and also decreasing oxidation kinetics. Technosols also act as a buffer, adsorbing any heavy metals that may be present in the runoff water in the form of leachate, and are eutrophising, which promotes eventual environmental integration.

4. The Bolaños tunnels

The only two tunnels on the Madrid-Galicia line executed BY TBM.

Assembly of the 230-metre-long, 2,900-ton TBM in May 2015.

The Bolaños tunnels are the only ones on the entire line executed by a TBM. Bi-tube by design, they form part of the Vilariño-Campobecerros section, and consist of a 6.96-kilometre right-hand track and 7.91-kilometre left-hand track. The route runs through the municipalities of Vilariño de Conso, A Gudiña and Castrelo do Val, in the province of Ourense.

Both were executed using a TBM with the exception of the first 55.91 metres of the western opening and the first 15 metres of the eastern opening on the right-hand track and the first 76.13 metres of the western opening on the left-hand track, which were executed by conventional methods to move beyond a fault.

The dimensioning of the tunnel cross-section was limited by compliance with the UIC’s health and comfort criteria to ensure high-quality high-speed passenger transport. Following these criteria, the final open cross-section of the tunnels was 52 square metres. The excavation cross-section of the TBM was 9.80 metres in diameter, with 37-centimetre-thick segments of precast reinforced concrete lining with an internal diameter of 8.76 m. The concrete in the segments contains polypropylene fibres as a fire protection measure. The gap between the TBM excavation and segment lining was filled with two-component mortar, a mixture of conventional mortar with hydrated bentonite and silicate.

The waterproofing of the precast lining was achieved by fabricating the segments with a low-permeability concrete; installing a double waterproofing seal at the segment joints; and injecting the two-component mortar into the space that remained between the excavated surface and the ring of segments. The injected voussoir is the primary waterproofing, since, in practice, it is the first barrier encountered by groundwater on its way towards the interior of the tunnel, with secondary waterproofing being that provided by the seals.

The two tubes are connected by 18 galleries, one of which is used specifically for installations. The cross-section of the galleries has an open width of 4.70 m and a lining of 25 cm of plain concrete, with the addition of polypropylene fibres as a fire protection measure.

During the tunnel excavation, a large amount of water was generated by the construction processes, and it was necessary to treat it in a large treatment plant in order to comply with the parameters required by the competent bodies. The suspended solids present in the water were removed using a separation process, with the help of coagulants and flocculants. The pH was adjusted through the use of CO₂ (for basic process water) or caustic soda (for acidic process water).

5. The Teixeiras viaduct

A 100-metre-high central arch over the Arroyo Teixeiras.

The central piers are over 90 metres high, with two half-arches that provide a separation of 132 metres between them.

The Teixeiras viaduct, for which Ineco was in charge of works and environmental management, is without a doubt the most spectacular structure on the entire Madrid-Galicia HSL.

The deck of the Teixeiras viaduct was executed using self-launching formwork, and has a length of 508 metres distributed in eight spans (56 m + 4×66 m+56 m). Its uniqueness lies in the construction procedure chosen to negotiate the Arroyo Teixeiras with maximum respect for the environment. The foundations of the central piers (which are more than 90 metres high) are shared by two half arches, which were erected and angled inward to meet at a fixed point under the deck, providing a separation between piers of 132 metres, equivalent to two spans, which, in addition to minimising the impact on the environment, gives the structure greater transparency and beauty. The Arroyo Teixeiras, a tributary of the Támega River, has protected riverbank vegetation and, on the surrounding slopes, a forest consisting of native species with large chestnut and oak trees.

The construction of a large structure like the Teixeiras viaduct requires large auxiliary areas to house the facilities that support the construction: from large cranes to site huts; from storage yards to vehicle car parks. For this site, ways of minimising the impact of this area were studied thoroughly. Detailed analysis was carried out on the opening of roads with steep slopes to reduce their grade, areas of auxiliary facilities on bends or between foundations, work platforms adjacent to jobs with strict occupation limits, etc. All of these installations were located on both hillsides that, in addition to being very steep, had soils made up of highly fragmented materials with high potential for displacement of soil that would reach the waterway below in the case of rain.

In order to prevent or mitigate the effects that this soil displacement could have on the water quality of the Arroyo Teixeiras, an ingenious anti-displacement system was implemented, basically consisting of a network of pipes (concrete ditches, pipes, sandpits, settling pools, intermediate reservoirs, etc.) deployed along the access roads to the foundations, which converge at pumping reservoirs located very close to the waterway. To reduce earthwork and facilitate subsequent integration, metal containers were used as pumping reservoirs so that they could be easily removed after the completion of the works.

In the event of heavy rain, sediment-laden runoff was redirected –by means of powerful pumps– to a treatment system located at the height of abutment 2 of the structure, expanding the response capacity in the case of a heavy rains. In this treatment system, coagulants and flocculants were also be used to accelerate separation if necessary.

By the Ineco construction managers Arturo Pastor, Iago Rodríguez-Lorasque and Noelia Cobo, technical engineer Jesús Pena, and environmental worksite managers Iñaki G. Seoane, Enrique M. Agüera and Luis Álvarez-Pardiñas with the collaboration of Raúl Correas, deputy director of Construction V at Adif Alta Velocidad.

Load tests: ready for action

Prior being put into operation, Ineco carried out the load testing of 25 structures and inspection of 70 bridges for Adif on the Olmedo-Pedralba section of the Madrid-Galicia high-speed line.

By Pablo Sánchez Gareta, civil engineer

The Ineco team, from left to right: Jorge Benito, Amadeo Cano, Pablo Martín-Romo, Javier Ortiz, Pablo S. Gareta and Carlos Sánchez.

During the months of March and April 2019, a team of seven specialists from Ineco carried out an important task for Adif Alta Velocidad prior to the commissioning of the new Olmedo-Pedralba de la Pradería section: load testing and inspection of the bridges and viaducts over which the complex route of the Madrid-Galicia HSL runs, all with satisfactory results.

Load tests were carried out on a total of 25 structures, in addition to the main inspections of 70 bridges (14 viaducts, 2 pergolas and 54 underpasses). In the case of the bridges, and since they were newly constructed, the data collected during the inspections provides a baseline situation (zero state) for subsequent analysis and monitoring of the evolution of the structure.

During the tests, which are compulsory for all new bridges with spans 10 metres or longer, actions of actual use of the works are reproduced under controlled conditions.

In other words, checks are carried out to ensure that the bridge is safe, well built and able to withstand the loads of the trains that will travel over it over time. For these verifications, static and dynamic tests are carried out with loaded trains running at different speeds. Data collected by sensors installed on the structure is analysed and the actual and expected responses are compared. The results are sent to the Railway Safety Agency, which is responsible for authorising the entry into operation of the section.

One of the most representative structures that was tested was the Ricobayo viaduct over the reservoir of the same name, measuring 368 metres long and consisting of four spans of between 50 and 155 metres long. For the test, 2 locomotives and 20 hopper wagons loaded with ballast weighing a total of 1,863 tons were used. On the spectacular viaduct over the Tera River, measuring 645 metres long and consisting of nine spans of between 60 and 75 metres, two trains with eight hopper wagons each, weighing a total of 1,536 tons, travelled at speeds of between 10 and 80 km/h.

Gauge matters

While the Zamora-Ourense high-speed section was being completed, a gauge changer was built in Pedralba de la Pradería to enable trains to travel on tracks with two different gauges without stopping. Ineco managed the works, as it is doing in the Taboadela changer at the other end of the section.

By Marta González, and Noelia Sánchez, civil engineers

Ineco is managing works for Adif Alta Velocidad on the Pedralba de la Pradería gauge changer in Zamora, a railway facility that allow uninterrupted travel by trains between Madrid and Galicia, automatically switching from high-speed track in standard gauge (1,435 mm) to conventional track in Iberian gauge (1,668 mm). In addition, at the opposite end of the section, works have also begun on another changer in Taboadela, Ourense, also managed by Ineco.

A gauge changer is a railway facility that allows trains equipped with variable-gauge axles or semi-axles to automatically change their gauge while travelling at a constant speed (approximately 15 km/h) and without the need for human intervention. In Spain, where the high-speed network in standard gauge coexists with the conventional Iberian gauge (IT57), these systems are essential to enable trains to switch from one to another at points where both exist. This is the case of the Pedralba-Taboadela-Ourense section.

From left to right, engineers Noelia Sánchez, head of the ACO unit, and Marta González, manager of the gauge-changer works in Pedralba, Zamora.

The Pedralba gauge changer is a TCRS3 dual gauge changer, that is to say, suitable for both CAF and Talgo technology. Works included the installation of points that connect the Zamora-A Coruña conventional line to the changer at kilometre 112/405. The installations consist of a metal structure with a main trench where the gauge-change platform is located, equipped with a video recording system. On both sides, there are two observation trenches that allow inspection of the rolling system, which also has an automatic de-icing system for Talgo train wheels. This is a temporary solution until the next high-speed section is put into service, at which point the platform and equipment will be dismantled and moved to another changer.

BRIEF HISTORY OF A GROUND-BREAKING TECHNOLOGY

• The first gauge changers were installed in Spain in 1968 in Irún and Portbou to allow Talgo trains to travel to Paris and Zurich.
• Gauge changers spread at the same time as the high speed network; the first generation included different types for each of the two variable rail technologies in Spain (RD by Talgo and Brava by CAF). The dual system, which was suitable for both, was developed later. Adif installed the first third-generation system (TCRS3) in 2009.
• For more than twenty years, Ineco has participated in the design of most of the different generations of gauge changers. Currently, it is also responsible for the maintenance and operation of more than twenty automatic gauge changers throughout Spain.

On 25 June, the new AVE high-speed line between Madrid and Granada officially opened with an inaugural journey attended by the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez (in the centre of the image), the acting minister of Public Works, José Luis Ábalos, the president of Adif, Isabel Pardo de Vera (right), the president of Renfe, Isaías Taboas, and the secretary of state for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing, Pedro Saura, (left), among other guests and dignitaries.

Commercial operation began the following day, on 26 June, with three services in each direction between Granada and Madrid, a distance of 568 km and with a maximum travelling time of 3 hours 19 minutes. A daily service has also been established between Granada and Barcelona with a travelling time of 6 hours 25 minutes. All services stop in Cordoba.

The new high-speed line has three stations, in Antequera, Loja and Granada, and is equipped with ERTMS level 2 and GSM-R mobile communications (see report on page 10).

From left to right: The presidents of Adif and Ineco, Isabel Pardo and Carmen Librero, with Pedro Ruiz, Moisés Gilaberte and Laura López, from Ineco.

The responsibilities of the Traffic Control manager include managing the different operations carried out on and near the track in order to ensure safe and proper functioning, whether they be construction activities or train and subsystem tests. However, given the international nature and complexity and magnitude of the project (it is very similar in length to the Madrid-Seville high-speed line in Spain), work on the new line between Makkah and Madinah has an organisational and operational structure that is different from the structure used in Spain.

The Traffic Control work is based on the Procedure of Traffic Control in Construction Phase for HARAMAIN HSR, or PTCH as it is known in Saudi Arabia. This regulation, drafted by Ineco, was prepared from the Spanish version, and excellent results have been achieved in terms of railway safety over these years thanks to its correct application. This regulation is the standard reference for the Traffic Control manager and workers from other companies involved in the project, and is essential for ensuring successful daily interaction between them.

For the first time, Spanish High Speed (AVE) technology has been introduced to Saudi Arabia, a country in which the presence of railways is limited or non-existed in cities such as Jeddah. Much of the construction work on a high-speed line begins in the work bases, which serve as headquarters for Traffic Control managers in their daily routines. In the case of Saudi Arabia, Ineco staff teams have been living in camps alongside these work bases –such as the one in Rabigh– in order to be as close as possible to the works, reduce travel time and minimise the risk of accidents.

The Traffic Control manager has full authority over the operation of the different activities carried out on the track for its safety and optimum functioning. Whether operating from an auxiliary control centre, the main control centre or with a walkie-talkie, he provides all necessary information to the train drivers and is responsible for running the trains at intervals between stations and supervising, for traffic control purposes, the activation of junctions and remotely controlled systems by installation companies .

Traffic Control teams like the one working on the Haramain Project must be able to communicate successfully and overcome the language barriers that exist between workers from many different countries, including Pakistan, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc., in addition to Spain.

The opening of the Madrid–Seville AVE was, certainly, a technological revolution for the world of Spanish railways, a leap forward that put us at the international cutting edge of the technology and construction of track and rolling stock. In a short time, high speed revitalised the railway and changed the modes of transport competing successfully with road and air travel. Through the trust of the Ministry, Renfe, and later Adif, Ineco began to participate in the development of high speed, working alongside many other Spanish engineering and construction firms.

In the start-up of the high-speed line, it was necessary to draw on practically all disciplines of civil engineering and architecture: alignment, geology and geotechnical engineering, structural calculation and design, underground works, hydrology and drainage, environmental recovery, railway infrastructure and superstructure, station design and remodelling, demand and traffic studies, the inspection of bridges, waterways and viaducts, load testing, track inspection and instrumentation, energy and substations, signalling, control centres, operation, etc.

In the start-up of the high-speed line, it was necessary to draw on practically all disciplines of civil engineering and architecture

That is why when Spain’s first high-speed line (and one of the first in the world) was inaugurated 25 years ago, the 250 km/h journey between Madrid and Seville (471 kilometres in under three hours) was for many people a triumph, a celebration almost as important as Expo’92, the major event with which the inauguration was timed to coincide.

Remembering these dates, we also recall those young Ineco engineers and technicians who, taking Renfe’s lead, had the opportunity to participate in this great project. Thanks to these humble beginnings and the expertise, rigour and talent of our professionals, companies in the Spanish rail sector today are more competitive and enjoy a well-deserved international recognition. An example of this is our participation in high-speed projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Turkey and India.

The UN’s Habitat III conference in Quito and the future role of transport in cities; the study of Europe’s main transport routes; modernisation works for a railway line in Turkey and the latest innovations in improving European air traffic; these are also important themes to analyse, and we hope that our readers find them enjoyable and interesting.

The experience gained from those years on has been a starting point and guide for building the backbone of the country, and we now have the second most extensive high-speed network in the world. In this quarter of a century since the first line was opened up to the current network comprising over 3,100 kilometres in service, the experts of Ineco have acquired unique experience in designing and constructing high-speed lines. The level of technology attained by companies of the Spanish railway sector has attracted such worldwide recognition that the specific term AVE (Alta Velocidad Española, or ‘Spanish high speed’) was coined to refer to the experience brought. This is because the development of this railway technology –a major political objective of the governments of the last 30 years– has involved conditions and challenges incomparable with the histories of the few other countries that have embarked on this project (Japan, France, China, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the UK and, very recently, the USA), and overcoming these has driven Spanish companies to the highest level of expertise. We dedicate this report to the personal experience and memories of those who were with Ineco from the beginning, working closely with Renfe and the Ministry on successfully achieving this large-scale project.

25 years, 25 experiences

Spain was the fourth country in the world to take on high speed, after Japan (Tokyo-Osaka, 1964), France (Paris-Lyon, 1981) and Germany (Hanover-Würzburg, 1991). When in 1986 the government decided to build a high- speed line between Madrid and Seville, Spanish consultancy and engineering firms gave the best of themselves to make it a reality. In less than six years they managed to cover 471 kilometres in two hours and 50 minutes.

FAMILY PHOTO. A group of Ineco engineers and technicians worked to make high speed a reality in the 1980s and 90s. In the picture, a large number of them are at the entrance to Ineco’s headquarters in Madrid. / PHOTO_ELVIRA VILA

The opening on 20th April 1992 –after a record construction time– was scheduled to coincide with the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992, and its challenge and aim were the economic development of Andalusia in the south of Spain. In the medium term, the government’s objective was much more ambitious: to build a new, modern railway network to be integrated with the future European high-speed network, a decision taken in the Council of Ministers in December 1988. As a product of this effort in innovation, investment and work, Spain ended the 20th century with the greatest transport engineering project, the first step in the radical change that has taken the railway network to the highest levels of efficiency and quality.

The speed with which the line was constructed –the work was performed over four and a half years– was related to the choice of route, which avoided the mountain pass of Despeñaperros, a traffic bottleneck from Madrid to the south of the Peninsula. In the search for alternatives, eight years earlier, in 1984, Ineco had conducted a study for Renfe on the economic and social profitability of a railway line from Madrid to Seville through Brazatortas-Córdoba. Two years later, on 11th October 1986, the government decided to prioritise the construction of this new railway access to Andalusia, named NAFA, which shortened the total distance by 100 kilometres. That same month Renfe entrusted Ineco with the execution of the preliminary and detailed designs for the main section, the Getafe-Córdoba stretch, 320 kilometres long with a maximum speed of 250 km/h.

In December 1986 a team was formed to carry out the work, creating a mixed office between Renfe, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and Ineco, so as to maximise its execution. From then until November 1987, a smaller group of engineers, draughtsmen and computer technicians began a frenetic race to carry out the preliminary and detailed designs for NAFA. Ineco directly completed 215 kilometres, and the best engineering consultants in Spain, such as Euroestudios, Intecsa, Eptisa and Iberinsa, were for the remaining 106 kilometres. All the infrastructure and track projects were undertaken and led by Ineco’s civil engineer, Jorge Nasarre y de Goicoechea. French firm Alstom won the contract to make the rolling stock (the trains) and the German consortium AEG Siemens was commissioned to electrify the entire Madrid-Seville railway line.

The opening on 20th April 1992 was scheduled to coincide with the Universal Exposition of Seville, and its challenge and aim were economic development of Andalusia in the south of Spain

On 5th October 1987, after delivering the initial projects, work began for the new Brazatortas-Córdoba line, a stretch of 104 kilometres named NAFA Sur (South). By the end of 1987, all remaining projects on NAFA were delivered, tendered and contracted. One year later the projects were modified to adopt the international track gauge, which is different from the Iberian gauge, with the intention that the new developments could be integrated into the European network.

At Renfe’s request, from April 1990 until the completion of the work, Ineco took part in quality control for the track to be accepted. The team of fourteen Ineco technicians led by civil engineer Ulpiano Martínez Solares, was advised by two German engineers sent by German firm DE-Consult (now DB), a subsidiary of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn. It is worth mentioning that both movable point frogs and those with a FAKOP solution, as well as the use of dynamic track stabilisers, were novel technologies in Spain. Today, our country is one of the leaders in designing and manufacturing these junctions. On the Madrid-Seville AVE we were able to improve the vertical stability of the track by levelling the land utilising techniques used in road construction. As regards lateral stability, Renfe’s technology was perfected by placing a pre-stressed or post-stressed concrete sleeper and elastic fastening, which enabled the rail to be soldered indefinitely. Additionally, using a 36 m basic rail –today, 90 m has been achieved– made it possible to considerably reduce discontinuities in the track in the form of electric welding.

Thanks to the knowledge acquired in the assembly stage, Ineco’s railway technicians got involved –after it was put into service in 1992– in track and infrastructure maintenance assistance, forming a team which today continues working for Adif on the Madrid-Seville line, on the Mora, Calatrava and Hornachuelos work bases. Ernesto Giménez and Santos López (together with Reyes García) continue working today on the Calatrava base; Alfredo Olivera, Francisco Rebollo and Juan Carlos Olivera on the Hornachuelos base; and Francisco Casasola and José María Melero on the Antequera base. Jesús Márquez Sánchez is currently working on the Extremadura high- speed line, Antonio Millán on the Villarubia base of the Madrid-Valencia AVE, and José Luis G. Sarachaga is assigned to the Vilafranca del Penedès base on the Madrid-Barcelona-French border AVE line. Rodolfo Velilla continues at Ineco as Maintenance Manager for the Madrid-Seville line and Manuel Corvo as a Senior Railway Expert.

In December 1991, Ineco collaborated with the Spanish government to prepare the parliamentary appearances of the then Secretary of State Emilio Pérez Touriño on the imminent opening of the line. On 14th April 1992 a maiden trip was made in which part of the government, and representatives of Renfe and the Ministry, the consultancy firms and the Ineco projects drafting team travelled to Seville. The journey lasted two hours and 50 minutes. The success of the operation enabled the first commercial trip on the line to be made on 20th April.

From that year until today, high speed has been an unstoppable force, solving great challenges: the first, the extremely complicated orography of the Iberian Peninsula. With such uneven land, building infrastructure for high-speed trains to circulate on –speeds of 250-300 km/h require tracks with inclines no greater than 3%– involved executing tunnels and viaducts specifically for this kind of traffic, with demanding track platform parameters and rigorous technical specifications. Another remarkable –and no less challenging– aspect of the Spanish case was the use of high-technology equipments from various manufacturers, generating a large capacity for integration and development of various technologies. To this it should be added that the Spanish railway network had been built with the so-called Iberian gauge (1,668 mm), which is incompatible with the standard or international track gauge (1,435 mm) established for high speed and used in most European countries. This made it necessary to seek solutions such as the incorporation of the three rails to make circulation compatible on both gauges, the development of modern, fast variable gauge changeover facilities to change the Iberian to the international gauge, and track assembly adapting elements such as the ballast, slab track, sleepers and their clips, track devices, electrification, fixed installations, signalling, etc. Adaptation of the track gauge to international standards culminated in 2012 with the connection for the first time with Europe by the line between Barcelona and Figueres-Perpignan.

Completing a railway project of this magnitude and the technical disciplines this entails have enabled Spanish engineering and industry to be at the forefront in construction, installation, tune-up and maintenance of high-speed lines. From its technological definition and the first earthworks up to commissioning, a work without precedent was carried out. Practically the entire railway sector has been overturned over decades, becoming a long and complex process that goes from preliminary feasibility studies, informative studies, studies of demand, economic and financial analyses, environmental impact studies and civil engineering, electrification and signalling construction projects, to designs of stations and urban access operations, finishing with the supervision, construction, implementation, exploitation and maintenance of lines and all special works such as tunnels and viaducts.

As a product of this effort, Spain ended the 20th century with the greatest transport engineering project, the first step in the change that has taken the railway network to the highest levels of efficiency and quality

The technical and communication differences among European railway networks have been another hurdle to overcome. Isolated from Europe by a different track gauge, Spain was the first country interested in overcoming distances and pursuing interoperability with its neighbouring countries. Today, it is a leader in implementing the ERTMS, the European rail traffic management system that will enable trains to move freely throughout Europe by overcoming the technical and operational hurdles of each system and country through a common language.

The technical and legal expertise of Ineco’s technicians has led them to collaborate actively with the EU’s ERA agency on the process of harmonising European railway networks. After years of dedication, European signalling systems have been standardised, and signalling control points have been interconnected with this system. This and other services have enabled the acquisition of a high level of know-how in safety systems and communications, on-track detection systems and train protection systems. This experience was complemented by the design and construction of centralised traffic control centres (CRC), from which high- speed tracks are managed using the Da Vinci system, a Spanish patent exported to the United States of America, Morocco and Lithuania and used in the underground rail systems in London and Medellín.

In terms of rolling stock, in Spain there are trains in operation made by various manufacturers, among them those of Spanish companies Talgo and CAF. Consultancy and engineering firms have participated in railway operations with latest generation trains which incorporate high-performance technology, i.e. that which enables speeds of up to 350 km/h. Their implementation involves the participation of experts on circulation, reception of rolling stock and on-board equipment.

Ineco welcomed a delegation of experts from the High Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited (HSRC) at the headquarters in Madrid. In the image, the president of Ineco, Jesús Silva, next to batch officer Vijay Anand, director general of Rail Vikas Projects and member of the HSRC Management Board.

The delegation visited Spain’s high-speed lines (AVE) in Madrid, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Seville and Malaga. Ineco is carrying out the new high-speed corridor project in India between Delhi and Kolkata together with the Indian consultancy ICT.

Spanish engineering and its 3,000 kilometres of AVE has made an impression on the country with one of the most extensive rail networks in the world. A team of engineers and experts from Ineco, Typsa an ICT have been working since 2015 on examining down to the last detail the feasibility study for the future high-speed line that will connect the capital New Delhi with Kolkata.

After years of postponed initiatives, the current government –the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)– led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given a definitive push to implement the high-speed line between its four main cities: New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. These four metropolises together have a population of 55 million people in a country with 1,276 billion inhabitants (one sixth of the world’s population). New Delhi has a metropolitan area of around 17 million inhabitants, Mumbai, 18, Kolkata, 14, and Chennai, formerly Madras, around 6 million.

The current government has given a definitive push to implement high speed in the country

Modi has made the industrial development of the country the central focus of his mandate, represented by the ‘Make in India’ campaign, which aims to promote internal production and reduce dependence on foreign countries. To stimulate his economy, the construction of infrastructure, particularly railways and roads, are crucial. Since his arrival to the government in summer 2014, the Prime Minister has implemented the Diamond Quadrilateral Program, a diamond with four corners, which includes the cities of New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, separated by more than 1,000 kilometres and connected by modern rail infrastructure: the seed of India’s future high-speed network. The project of this corridor covers 14 states and will serve as an economic driver as well as contributing to rejuvenate the country’s very old rail network, in which every day 18,000 trains operate, around 23 million passengers travel and around 2.6 million tonnes of goods are transported.

Although trains are the mode of transport most used in India –the country is literally knit together with a network of 64,460 kilometres– modernisation of its infrastructure and improved travel times and safety are issues that need to be resolved, which new investments aim to remedy.

Ineco was helped in the awarding of this tender by the support and commercial coordination of the Spain Business Overseas office in India. From New Delhi, its delegate Pedro Sinués has remarked that “the ability and technical experience of Spanish companies has allowed them to achieve the Diamond Quadrilateral tender, which has placed India on the international high-speed map”. “Proof of it –added Sinués– is that the consortium led by Ineco competed against 11 other international consortiums. As such, it becomes more important that two Ineco-led Spanish companies can apply their knowledge acquired in Spain to such an emblematic corridor (connecting what was the capital of India until 1911 with the current capital) and it is important in the socioeconomic structuring of the country”.

The amount awarded is over two million euros and the execution period is one year

The study, commissioned by the state company High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd. (HSRC), includes demand studies; prior analysis of route alternatives; calculation of journey times; selection of rail technology to implement (track gauge, track superstructure, electrification, communications and safety installations, etc.); necessary special works; regeneration and resettlement of affected populated areas; environmental analysis; rolling stock and operation and maintenance. Lastly, an economic-financial analysis will be carried out that will be used to determine the feasibility of the new line as well as the most adequate method of funding. The amount awarded is over two million euros and the execution period is one year.

The length of the corridor is around 1,500 kilometres and it passes through cities of great commercial, social and touristic interest, such as New Delhi, Agra (the city of the well-known Taj Mahal), Aligarh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Mughal, Varanasi, Sarai, Patna, Gaya, Dhanbad, Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata. The line runs through quite a flat area, near the river Ganges, and crosses various rivers and streams, which will require the design of viaducts.

For Félix Zapata, technical director of the project and Ineco engineer, “the work basically consists of analysing the feasibility of its construction, bearing in mind its financial cost and the social advantages that it will bring. Furthermore, we will offer the most appropriate financial model for its implementation”. “The works –adds Zapata– are aimed at achieving speeds and levels of comfort and safety within the modern high-speed standards. For this purpose, we will propose the most appropriate rail technology: type of track (ballast, slab track), electrification, communications and safety installations, rolling stock, specifications for the operation and maintenance of the new high-speed line, etc.”

The extensive Indian rail network has great potential and its own industry, but also many challenges: only 33% of its network is electrified, there are few fibre optic networks, they lack enclosure, stations do not have ticket purchasing systems or safety controls, etc. The project includes adaptation of the current stations to high speed or, failing that, the proposal of the location and preliminary design of new stations. As such, the construction of rail infrastructure with the characteristics mentioned previously will be a very important advancement in the Indian rail network.

In 2014, Ineco conducted a feasibility study on the high-speed rail connection between Haldia and Howrah for Indian Railways, a study carried out with the Spanish companies Ayesa and Prointec, which is part of the projects planned in the Diamond Quadrilateral. Furthermore, in 2009, Ineco provided technical assistance for the works of the Mumbai metro.

Spain is the third most popular tourist destination in the world in terms of revenue and for another year it has beaten its own record by exceeding 68 million visitors in 2015, three million more than the previous year. According to all of the analyses carried out, a factor that has benefited the sector is the situation of political instability from 2011 in Mediterranean destinations such as Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey. They all compete with Spain, which mainly receives European tourists: seven out of ten are British, French, German or Italian although, in relative terms, the increase in arrivals from the US and Asian countries is notable. According to Turespaña data, almost 80% of the total number came by air (half on a low-cost airline); a determining factor in this figure is that the Balearic and Canary Islands, for example, which are amongst the most touristic destinations in the world, are islands. As such, in 2015 all of the 46 airports in Spain registered more than 207 million passengers, 5.9% more than the previous year.

During 2015, eight out of ten visitors came to one of the 46 Spanish airports

Besides the two major Spanish airports, Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, which between them accounted for 41.7% with 86.5 million, more than 101.7 million passengers –49.1% of the total– were counted in the 14 airports classified as “touristic”, coinciding with the most touristic destinations: the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca; the Valencian community, with Valencia and Alicante airports; Andalusia, with Málaga and Seville; the Canary Islands, with the airports of Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma; and Catalonia, with Girona and Reus airports.

They all underwent processes of improvement and enlargement in the 2000s in order to increase their capacity, closely linked to the growth in tourism, known as the Barajas Plan, Barcelona Plan, Levant Plan, Málaga Plan, Canary Islands Plan, etc. During this time, Ineco has provided its services to the Ministry of Development and Aena in the planning and execution of the activities. Since 2008 it has also been in charge of the Traffic Forecast Office, which plays a key role in airport planning. A few times a year, a team of engineers and technicians updates the forecasts, and this is carried out with a macroeconometric model called PISTA (Integrated Prognosis of Air Traffic Systems), also developed by Ineco, with a specific methodology based on the concept of a ‘network’ and independent models for the national and international segments, based on significant economic variables. Furthermore, in preparing the specific forecasts for each airport and for the short-medium-term, other factors are taken into account such as competition from other means of transport (mainly AVE), the existence of other airports in the area of influence, changes in offers from airlines (new destinations, greater frequency, new models of airplanes used, etc.), special events (sports competitions, summits, etc.) and others.

Since 2008, Ineco has also been in charge of the Traffic Forecast Office, which plays a key role in airport planning

Not only are volumes of passengers, operations and goods for each airport in the network forecast, but the design values (DHP, design hour passengers; and DHA, design hour aircraft) that are essential for adequate planning of the infrastructure are also considered, since they allow detection of the needs that airports will have and, furthermore, when it will be necessary to carry out the activities. The results of the traffic forecasts are used to prepare Aena’s business and investment plans, as well as to design commercial strategies in airports and, as such, they are very important.

In our first issue of 2016 we have made way for news articles and reports regarding major projects that are key to the future of Ineco and other companies from Spain. Both the study for the construction of a high-speed railway between New Delhi and Kolkata as well as the waste management contracts in Panama and Ecuador exemplify the headway made in overseas markets as a result of the years of training, work and rigour that Spanish engineering has brought to fruition in various infrastructure-related fields.

The value of these studies lies not only in their irrefutable technical and financial magnitude, but also –and almost more importantly– in the role they play in the socio-economic development of the countries where they are carried out in addition to the unique, exclusive experience that, having been designed for and applied to the Spanish market, is proving to yield excellent results in countries all around the world.

Although it was only a short time ago that we were strategizing how to export the technological capacity of the Spanish High-Speed Rail (AVE), we can now talk about some real-life examples. We are not only working in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Turkey, but over the last few months, Ineco has also begun to carry out studies for the implementation of this sophisticated rail technology in both Egypt and India. We are backed by more than 30 years of experience –the first high-speed railway in Spain was inaugurated in 1992– a rail network spanning 3,100 kilometres and a series of challenges that we have successfully overcome. The work that we are carrying out in India is featured both on our front page and in an article including an interview with the managing director of the HSRC, the body responsible for the development and implementation of high-speed rail projects in this Asian country.

We are not only working in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Turkey, but over the last few months Ineco has also begun to carry out studies for the implementation of this sophisticated rail technology in both Egypt and India

Tourism and air transport are also activities that carry an important weight in Spain. This is apparent in the record seen by the tourism industry with a total of 68 million visitors in 2015, wherein eight out of ten tourists arrived to Spain via one of the 46 Spanish airports. We are grateful for the participation and opinions of the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in an article covering this topic. The aviation section of this issue also features another article which addresses the technical challenges faced in the design of control towers. Finally, I should like to mention the pages that we have dedicated to the colossal engineering project that spanned the 155 kilometres of the Atlantic Axis, crossing over rugged Galician terrain: 37 tunnels and 32 viaducts highlight the enormity of this project that has now become a reality.

With these and other articles, as well as an updated design, I am certain that we are conveying the high quality standard of Spanish engineering to our clients and readers without neglecting, of course, to inform and entertain.