A 103m-long TBM has started drilling for the 15km new extension to Dubai’s metro.
Spanish infrastructure company Acciona and Turkish construction firm Gulermak are overseeing the civil works on the €2.6 billion Red line extension – also known as Route 2020 Project – and began perforation on October 24 with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, in attendance.
The TBM, known as Wugeisha EXPO 2020, will help extend the metro system from Nakheel Harbour and Tower station to the Expo 2020 site.
Looking for a new job in the UK rail industry? Click here to begin your journey.
The tunnel starts from the Discovery Gardens area and stretches 3.2km to the Green Community area at depths ranging from 12.5m-36m.
Drilling works are expected to be complete by December 2018, the construction of viaducts by November 2018 and all railway works by July 2019. The first test is estimated to run in February 2020.
ExpoLink Consortium, the group in charge of designing and constructing Dubai metro’s Red line extension and modernising the existing systems, consists of Alstom, Acciona and Gulermak. The contract was agreed with the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority in 2016 and also includes the supply of 50 Metropolis trains, which will be delivered from July 2018.
Read more: Madrid metro announces €238.5m maintenance contracts