One of the fundamental principles of the Schengen Area is to allow the free movement of any natural person from a member state. For this, several alternatives are available to travel between countries, the railway sector is no exception and today,railroads between neighboring countries are yet to be built. The Portuguese Évora-Freixo railway line is currently under construction to bring Portugal and Spain closer together. Large works of this type require precision and accumulated experience, counting on the intervention of Viamapa.
How to build a Railroad?
Rail offers us significant advantages in many respects, such as transport safety, decongestion of roads, limited on the environment, and much more.
This project requires numerous steps from start to finish. Topographic engineering contributes to the execution of the work in a scenario that best suits the comfort of future passengers, resulting in a smoother track. The construction of railway tracks implies several structures such as viaducts, tunnels, level crossings or bridges .
In addition to the ancillary works, the different steps to build a railway line follow:
- Pre-construction
Preparatory work prior to the construction of the railroad is necessary to ensure the sustainability of theinfrastructure. Of all the preparations, one must first perform subsurface drainage and prepare the materials.
Underground drainage helps prevent the railroad from clogging up due to water accumulation and becoming defective. At subsoilit is absolutely necessary to take concrete drainage measures to prevent future deterioration of the railway lines. It is therefore necessary to install a drainage system, prior to laying the railroad, such as conveyor drains, drainage pipes or basins to reduce congestion on certain sections of track.
Railroads are made of various materials, such as ballast, sleepers, and rails, among others. The preparation of these construction materials is the basis of any railway project , allowing the integrity of the work.
- Application on a lower railroad ballast
The aggregate, formed by stones found in the rails, is defined as the ballast bed, providing the base of the railway with safety and stability. Different construction procedures are possible for the placement of lower and upper ballast.
- Anchoring
It is a process that attaches the sleeper to the crest of the ballast. Again, this procedure plays an important role in ensuring the safety of rail transport and requires different materials and techniques to achieve a high level of pressure.
- Placement of rail
The laying of rails requires precision.
The laying of rails is a complex process, first you must measure the length of each rail rail and use rails with the same length offset. Starting at the back of the switch, using a monorail carriage.
- Installing Top Ballast
A second laying of track ballast is required to stabilize the infrastructure. Lifting the rails allows railroad workers to adjust the track to the level. A machine called a compaction machine will compact the track several times. When some trains run on the new or refurbished track, a final placement of ballast will be made to fill present and future holes.
- Anchor and rail reinforcement
Finally, to finish and consolidate everything, it is necessary to anchor rails to give them more stability. These steel pieces keep the infrastructure in place over the long term and provide additional security to the previous steps.
What is Viamapa's participation in the new Évora-Freixo railway platform?
The Évora project is part of theRailroad 21 ProgramProgram, with 40% European Union participation.
It is inserted in the futureInternational Corridor Souththat intends to connect Évora Norte and Elvas (80 km) with with a completely new route.
The contract in question designated asLot Ais 20.5 km between Évora Norte-Freixo, with a total cost of 46.6 million.
The consortium that won the lot A is formed by Comsa, Fergrupo and San Jose to perform all the work, but in this work there are also companies with complementary expertise, such as Viamapa, which will provide different solutions in the marking of the entire work both in reinforced concrete and in earthwork.
The works started at January of 2020, with a deadline of 540 days.
The Promoter Portuguese of the project is Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). However, Viamapa has been collaborating in the work since the beginning of the project, with the teams in field, continuing in the years to come.
Viamapa's mission is to accompany the work, with the realization and execution of the project, topographical surveys to calculate volumes and thus allow engineers to make their calculations with precision.
Survey and Implementation of the project at Viamapa
- Initial Survey
The initial survey phase is essential for the success of any railway project. An accurate knowledge of the terrain is fundamental for the implantation of the railroad project, being, among other elements of the network, products supplied by Viamapa.
Railway projects include several current and complex works of art:
- Railroad bridge: guaranteeing, over rivers, the passage of the new line
- Viaduct: which allows circulation when the territory offers steep slopes and over roads
- Road bridge: a section of road and rail intersections without affecting them.
- Aqueduct: that opens the way for water in a buried channel
- Wildlife crossings: providing safe passage for animals
- Level crossing: combining two modes of transport
These works of art, which will allow the development of the railways in an optimized wayare as important as the railway itself. After having defined by precise measurements the defined route of the track, our teams produce the base plans for the railway project
The contribution of the expertise of our teams therefore starts from the conceptual phase, beyond the detailed floor plan design (in 2D / 3D / BIM depending on the project), a implementation and monitoring of the work until the end, the creation of the line.
Viamapa has been achieving several purposes, particularly with our mobile mapping system : Learn more here
- Deployment
Once the blueprints are completed and validated, the project implementation phase follows, which consists of using elements calculated on a blueprint and physically materializing them , locating them with georeferencing techniques. For the construction of this new railroad, therail axes were positioned with high precision taking into account all the details of the territory.
This is followed by a phase of verification and quality control of the previous work.
The purpose of the mission gives us information about the method applied by our teams and also the level of accuracy on the sites: a variation that can range from one centimeter to a few millimeters.
Topographical surveys to calculate volumes
Part of our teams perform topographic work along the entire route. Since the railroad requires relatively flat territory, filling or cutting must be used if necessary. To maximize line efficiency, a volume calculation lets machine operators know precisely how many tons must be moved. In addition, with accurate data, contractors can perform additional calculations for their teamshow much time is needed to lift a certain quantity or how many machines must be mobilized from one section to another. These calculations then favor the earthworks where the linear design of the new line will find there a suitable base for a fluid circulation.
At Viamapa, we offer the best possible products, whether in 2D (length, width) or 3D (length, width, depth).
Measurements are the basis of great projects, they guarantee:
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Security
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Efficiency
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Profitability
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Accuracy
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Regularity
In short, a few more years and the trains will be ready to circulate safely between Portugal and Spain
