The works for the underground track assembly in León are well underway and will be completed in the near future. Ineco is supervising assembly works, as well as the quality of the track and the rest of the installations that form part of the project to move the León through station underground. In the picture, Ineco surveyor Jose A. Diaz, supervising the track construction.

We open this issue with the news of the contract awarded recently for the design of the new terminal at Schiphol Airport, a project that will make us a participant in the expansion of one of the most important airports in the world. This excellent news joins the announcements of the recent contracts to execute the master plan for the Dammam Airport and the expansion and rehabilitation of the Liberia airport. These international contracts reflect Ineco’s strength and competitiveness in the aeronautical sector, and are complemented by articles covering the projects and construction supervision in two airports in Cape Verde, and the feature article on the aeronautical safety studies.

In the railway sector, the cover story highlights another large project that has already been completed: the high-speed line that our experts have designed in Egypt to connect Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada. More than 1,000 kilometres in length, it is the longest section of high-speed track ever built by Ineco, only recently surpassed by the 1,500 kilometres of another similar project, the high- speed line between New Delhi and Kolkata.

The latest international contracts awarded to Ineco reflect our strength and competitiveness in the aeronautical sector

Projects such as the Indian project and this most recent project in Egypt, are enormous railway challenges that clearly demonstrate the capacity and expertise of the teams, made up of more than one hundred people who contributed to make them a reality. In total, the projects required two years of work which, in order to ensure the success of the study, involved various Egyptian public entities responsible for the implementation of the project, led by the Ministry of Transport and the National Railways of Egypt.

This study by Ineco, with the support of Adif and Renfe, exports the experience and know-how of Spanish engineering and industry in the design, construction and maintenance of high-speed lines. Experience that has pushed us to continue our participation in the development of high-performance networks, such as HS2 in the UK, in which Ineco has been awarded a new contract, projects for the installation of the ERTMS in Denmark, the railway integration works in the historic city of León, and the renovation of the San Bernardo station in Seville, all of which are described in this issue.

Lastly, we cap off this issue with a new section titled In Closing, in which our professionals tell us about the latest developments in their respective areas. In this case, we are starting with Rocío Viñas, our deputy director general of Cooperation and Innovation, who discusses the Spanish Hyperloop project. A closing that is aimed at sharing new developments in the sector with our readers.

The railway network in the city of León and the surrounding area is currently based around a cul-de-sac station. This means that trains to and from Madrid or Gijón that stop in León are forced to reverse out of the station and use the ‘southern link’ in order to continue on their way, requiring a delay of around twenty minutes. To solve this problem, Adif has started tunnel works to provide continuity to the León-Asturias line along the old railway track that crosses the city to correct the station’s cul-de-sac arrangement. By doing this, trains to and from Asturias will be able to cross the city without the need for any reversing manoeuvres.

Ineco is in charge of the monitoring and supervision work and management for Adif high-speed, including the preliminary analysis of the selected project, the Supervision and Monitoring Plan, works supervision, geometric monitoring and coordination of the surveying and supervision works, preparation of site layout verification reports, collaboration on the drafting of projects and preparation of as-built projects for the completed works. The company is also involved in the drafting of the construction and electrification projects.

In the first phase of the project, which will last for more than two years, the old corridor will be transformed into a tunnel between concrete walls with Iberian gauge tracks –scheduled for conversion to standard gauge– which will connect the existing Iberian gauge track that extends to the west of León’s temporary station (Line 130 Venta de Baños-Gijón Cercanías, Palencia-León section) with the double track of the León-Variante de Pajares section (Line 130 Venta de Baños-Gijón Cercanías, León-Gijón section). The work will also involve enlargement of the provisional station, construction of an underground station with new platform, and creation of a superstructure and electrification system.

PLANNED WORK

Infrastructure: civil engineering tunnel works

• 1,166 metres of track box will be constructed between concrete walls. The 590-metre long section of line will feature a cover slab that will be constructed using the cut-and-cover tunnel system. The width of the box will range from 10.00 metres at the platform access and exit areas to 18.50 metres in the station itself. The height of the covered area is 6.5 metres along its entire length.
• Execution of a central platform 9 metres wide and a usable length of 410 metres.
• Safety installations in the tunnel, featuring signalling, emergency lighting and ventilation systems. A total of 5 emergency exits have been defined, in addition to access from the station.
• Regarding drainage, a drainage plan has been drawn up for the railway platform, featuring a network of collectors under the cover slab. A pumping system with a well will be used to extract the water collected by the drainage network and accumulated at the low point.

Track superstructure

• Execution of 1,636 metres of double track. 1,180 metres of this will be slab track, with the remainder laid on ballast. 3 track devices will also be installed.
• Demolition and construction of rail facilities and services at the site.

Electrification system

• Work will be done to replace the existing track electrification system and track devices for the access track to the locomotive workshops and to the planned track that will connect the tunnel works with the Iberian gauge track that currently allows access to León station (3G).

Station building

• Interior renovation and extension of the current passenger building: the station will undergo internal modifications to rearrange its layout, and will be extended to the west to encompass the new underground railway track. As part of this extension, a vertical access space will be created with a new underground platform.
• Reconfiguration and enlargement of the station’s access road: the area will be provided with a taxi stand, bus stop, kiss&ride area and parking reserved for ambulances and emergency vehicles. A new 76-space car park will also be created.
• The upper slab of the tunnel works will be paved to create a pedestrian walkway from Avenida del Doctor Fleming to the station. This walkway will run below the canopy of the old station’s passenger building and will feature different covered skylights that will provide natural light and facilitate ventilation and extraction of fumes from the underground platform. This longitudinal walkway will integrate the space by removing the barrier created by the existing surface railway, providing a connection between the existing population centres on either side of the railway corridor above the new underground railway platform.
• Restoration of the canopy of the old station’s passenger building. The canopy’s metal structure will be restored by cleaning and the application of a protection system. The missing polycarbonate panels in the western façade will also be replaced and the lighting system will be renovated.

Installation of the new superstructure: type and reinforcement

The new track will be installed on ballast and concrete slab:

• Installation of track on ballast in the tunnel’s uncovered section and secondary track centres.
• Installation of the 3 track switching and crossing units on ballast.
• Installation of EDILON EBS-SS 54E1 HR Pol with 25mm TRACKELAST STM/RPU/Blue mat and slab 0.60 metres thick in the tunnel section.

All track installations will have a conventional gauge of 1,668 mm in phase one, and standard gauge in the future. The total track installation length is 3,598.33 metres, of which, 1,274 metres is track on ballast and the remaining 2,325 slab track.