Type of work

Railways

Puerta del Sol-Gran Vía Station

Spain

  • Station access
  • Interior view of vestibule
  • Lifts with Braille keypad and voice communication
  • Cavern under construction
  • Fixed stairways, Braille information on handrails
  • Stairways
  • Mezzanine
  • Non-slip integrated guidance paving
  • Turnstiles
  • Schematic view of the new station and interchange vestibule
  • station access
  • Station access
  • Interior view of vestibule
  • Lifts with Braille keypad and voice communication
  • Cavern under construction
  • Fixed stairways, Braille information on handrails
  • Stairways
  • Mezzanine
  • Non-slip integrated guidance paving
  • Turnstiles
  • Schematic view of the new station and interchange vestibule
  • station access

Description

Sol Station is a multimodal station, designed by the architect Antonio Fernández Alba, and located under the central Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

The following lines come into this station, 1, 2 and 3 from Madrid Metro  and C-3 and C-4 from the Madrid local services network.

It consists of two main parts, the platform cavern and the station access vestibules that also connect to the metro.

The works to be executed are as follows, excavation and concreting of the cavern, executed in a gallery from shafts, ventilation and emergency exit shafts, pumping shafts, injection compensation and ground treatment shafts, track superstructure, electrical installations, fire protection, lighting, public address, mechanical stairways, lifts, drainage, water supply, architectural work and replacement of services affected by the works.

It also includes the construction works for two large access vestibules at both ends of the station. One of these is in Puerta del Sol, adjacent to the existing metro entrance, consisting of a large underground enclosure, that contains the new station accesses and the connection to metro lines 1, 2 and 3.

The other access is located at the corner of the Gran Vía and Montera Street and occupies the entire intersection with the common vestibule for the station and for lines 1 and 5 of the existing metro.

The cavern is a very singular work, executed using the German method, which is constructed in a gallery and is 207 metres long and 15 metres high, with an interior width of 20.36 metres.

Architect Antonio Fernández Alba

Award for the 2009 Best Public Works

presented by the Madrid College of Engineers

Responsible

The station is fitted with advanced safety, communications and accessibility systems and several different measures have been incorporated to improve access for handicapped persons.

The safety measures adopted during execution were dedicated most attention, with numerous ground treatments, such as compensation, chemical waterproofing, consolidation injections, together with contact injections between dome and side walls.

Highlights

  • The Best cavern in the world excavated in the ground.
  • A technical challenge that placed Spanish engineering at the forefront on a worldwide level.
  • 55,000 people directly access Puerta del Sol per day and any traveller can reach the centre of Madrid using local services with only one change.