In April this year the joint venture consisting of Ferrovial Agroman and Obras Subterráneas S.A. (OSSA) commissioned the Puebla de San Julián by-pass, constructed by the Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (ADIF). This is the first section of the Orense-Monforte-Lugo High-Speed train route to be commissioned, the construction having allowed for the elimination of 14 level crossings via modernisation and remodelling of the section, leading to improved circulation of the regular services and allowing trains to pass at 160 km/h, a maximum speed that will increase to 200 km/h once the line has been electrified.
The 7.8 kilometre line is located 10 km to the south of Lugo, and the development has called for the construction of platforms, tracks, safety installations and circulation communications systems in addition to a new station at Pobra de San Xian.
The two most significant constructions along the section are the 525 m and 1300 m double-track tunnels, the latter featuring an innovative 340 m emergency gallery, a slab track and an experimental transition from slab to basalt track, in addition to four viaducts of 330, 145, 630 and 590 m, the final two of these featuring track dilation devices and having been constructed using the incremental launch method. In Pobra de San Xian station the construction included 200 m of platform, 400 m of siding and the corresponding switching mechanisms in addition to a passenger transit building and a signalling station.
The commissioning has been carried out in accordance with the latest recommendations issued by the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF), which include requisites for correspondence, blockages, fibre-optic communications, system reliability, verification of train-route compatibility and simulation of commercial circulation.
Given the above, Manuel Ruíz-Ocejo, director of the joint venture company commented that:
“The work carried out prior to commissioning turned into a complex operation that was jointly undertaken by ADIF and the joint venture company, the essential objective being the re-establishment of commercial services by the expected date and under the expected conditions.”
The jobs were carefully planned so that they could be carried out over a single weekend, during which time services to and from nearby stations were interrupted. These jobs entailed more than 130 workers, 330 m of heavy track machinery (tamping machines, drilling rigs, ballast bed cleaner, conveyor with 5 hoppers, locomotives, ballast hoppers and a dynamic stabiliser) and a number of track excavators and dumpers, all of which were overseen by Ferrovial Agroman.
This project is one of a list of projects carried out by the Ferrovial Directorate for Rail and Transport, headed by Fernando López Bueno. The team under his command in this final phase consisted of Manuel Ruiz-Ocejo, Manager, Jesús Rafael García Pol, Site Manager, Ismael García, General Manager, Angélica Álvarez, Safety Officer, Carlos Gallego, Technical Officer, David Fernández Pérez, Head of Topography, and Victor Arias, Chief Administrator, together with the Directorate for Rail and Transport track team consisting of Carlos Bartolomé, Machinery Manager, Jaime Ruiz Escalante, General Manager, Raúl Serrano, Foreman, and Luis Pérez Conde, Chief Technician.
