On November 2, Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, officially opened the new Line 6 of Santiago de Chile’s underground system, which commenced regular operations that same afternoon. Many of Chile’s leading authorities were present at the event. Accompanying President Bachelet were Paola Tapia, Transport Minister, Alberto Undurraga, Minister for Public Works, and Claudio Orrego, Intendant of the Metropolitan Region, as well as Rodrigo Azócar, president of the Santiago metro, and the mayors of the city districts through which the new line runs. Present on behalf of Ferrovial Agroman were Ángel Luis Sánchez, Construction Director Zone I, Juan Ramón Pérez, Building Director Zone I, Joaquín Torres, Director for Chile, and Ricardo Munguía, Chile Buildings Manager, amongst others.
A ride was taken along the 15 km of this new line to mark the event, with stops at several stations. The official opening itself was held at Cerrillos station and included the unveiling of a military aeroplane which will remain on show at the station to commemorate the old airport which used to stand close to this station. All of Chile’s media outlets were present to broadcast the event live. There was widespread agreement after the event highlighting the quality and functionality of the new stations and the line itself, and the lack of incidents.
Ferrovial Agroman has carried out civil works on stretch 2 (3km of tunnels) and has built 7 of the new line’s 10 stations: Cerrillos, Lo Valledor, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Franklin, BíoBío, Ñuble and Ñuñoa. It has also designed and carried out inner cladding in all of the stations, and as such has been the main construction company working on this new infrastructure and a leading player in its delivery.
The contracts carried out by our company in this new Line 6 are:
- Civil Works Group 2 Line 6. Stretch 2: Responsible: Raquel Rodríguez, Centre for Distribution of Loads and Local Technical Officers: Responsible Fuad Kassis, both reporting to Javier Jiménez (Civil Works Manager)
- Stations of Cerrillos, Lo Valledor and Pedro Aguirre Cerda.Responsible: José Pose, Cristina Ibarra and Luis Jara, in a team with Alberto Toraya (Works Manager), and reporting to Ricardo Munguía (Chile Building Manager)
- Franklin and Bío stations.Responsible: Germán Flores and Angel Villota, in a team with Osvaldo Angulo (Works Manager), reporting to Ricardo Munguía
- Ñuble y Ñuñoa stations. Responsible: David Dueñas and Cristina Benítez, in a team with Nuria Venero, Works Manager, reporting to Ricardo Munguía
- Inner cladding of line 6 throughout. Works Manager Alberto Toraya, reporting to Ricardo Munguía.
A total of 8 contracts are currently ongoing in the country, with a total investment of over 350 million euros: Los Cóndores hydropower station, Route 5 Northbound Santiago-Lampa motorway, extension of Tobalaba station, vehicle crossings at Graneros, Pasarelas and Paraderos on Route 5 southbound, Universidad de Chile station, the Puente Alto Judicial Centre, and design and delivery of inner cladding on the stations of line 3.
You can watch the inauguration video here.
