- It cuts travel time from the Barcelona Sants station from the current time of 40 minutes to only 19 minutes
- For its construction, BIM methodology was implemented; this helped in the design, execution, and planning of the work
At the beginning of 2020, Ferrovial Construction completed construction on the access to the new terminal at Barcelona Airport, including work on Barcelona’s light–rail system. The infrastructure that will connect the Rodalies R2 line with Terminal 1 at Barcelona Airport – El Prat has been finished, cutting travel time from the Barcelona Sants station from the current time of 40 minutes to only 19 minutes.
Some 3,385 meters of the 4,495-meter infrastructure are underground. Of those, 3,048 were excavated with the EPB (Earth Pressure Balanced) tunnel boring machine, and the front’s earth pressure shield, “Gala,” has a diameter of 10.6 m. Of particular note on the route are the points where the tunnel boring machine passed under the C-31 highway, right where the track starts, where it crosses paths with Terminal 2 of Barcelona Airport – El Prat, and its main runway.
“All of these points, which involved particular difficulty and care, were excavated without producing practically any settling. It was a great achievement for the whole team, which merits congratulations. One of the challenges of this project has undoubtedly been construction on sandy terrain with water. We’ve had to step up quality and safety in this project to avoid possible leaks and incidents.”
Completion of the project also includes the construction of a new commuter station with 200-meter platforms in Terminal 2 of the Barcelona – El Prat Airport. The exterior was built with reinforced concrete screens almost 35 meters deep using a hydro-mill in the sandy terrain, which posed significant difficulty. Inside, two additional lines of screens separate the platforms from the stairs. The station also has a 97-meter pedestrian walkway suspended from the roof. It connects the Line 9 station of the Barcelona Metro with Terminal 2.
“How could it be any other way? Innovation is one of the pillars of Ferrovial Construction, and with this project, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to do our part.”
At the start of this project, and not because of the client’s requirements, BIM methodology was implemented; this helped in the design, execution, and planning of the work, especially for those factors involving higher complexity.
