100 years of the Metro of Madrid

International experience: Istanbul Metro

Commemorating the centennial of the Metro of Madrid, last May, the conference entitled “100 years of the Madrid Metro and its international translation” was held at the School of Mining Engineering of Madrid. These hand-on talks highlighted the great work of Spanish companies in the design and construction of the metro over the years, and how we have become a reference at the international level.

On behalf of IDOM, Pablo de la Puente, Director Metro Systems, spoke about our experience in the Istanbul Metro project and the design of its cavern stations. The new metro line between Vezneciler and Sultangazi runs 17 km underground, has 15 stations, of which 8 were designed in cavern using the NATM method (the so-called new Austrian method of tunnelling). This procedure was selected for the safety it offers during construction, and for its reduced costs and increased efficiency by taking advantage of the inherent geological strength available in the surrounding rock mass to stabilize the tunnel and therefore progress.

Nevertheless, due to the large dimensions of the caverns, and in order to evaluate the behaviour of the terrain in the most realistic way possible, during the design phase several numerical three-dimensional models were developed. These prototypes or 3D models allow us to eliminate uncertainties and ensure the correct execution of the tunnels.

July 24, 2019