Following tough negotiations between the contractors purchasing committee for the Guadarrama high speed rail tunnels and tendering TBM manufacturers, Wirth and Herrenknecht have won orders to supply two TBMs each for the construction of the 28km long twin bore, single track tunnels in Northern Spain. The orders are believed to be in the region of $14-15M each.
The purchasing committee formed by the contractors set down stringent guidelines that saw manufacturer Robbins lose out, saying it could not accept about 60% of the contract terms and conditions. A source close to the contract told T&TI, "Those terms were really tough for everyone, regarding payment terms, penalties, manufacturing period, financing terms and delivery time."
The hard rock machines with backup are both approximately 9.5m diameter telescopic shield TBMs. The first Wirth is set to be handed over in May 2002, the second in June 2002. Boring is expected to start for the first machine in August that year followed in September by the second machine. The Herrenknechts should be handed over in May 2002 with boring scheduled to start for both machines in August 2002.
Tunnelling has been split by the client, Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (GIF), between three joint ventures into four 14km long lots (T&TI May 2000)).
As yet it is not decided as to which JV will use which machine but it is believed that the different manufacturers may bore side by side to increase competition.
Construction of the tunnels is scheduled to take five years.
