The tunnel boring machine for Barcelona's L9 metro line is advancing towards the FGC El Putxet station, where it is expected to arrive this July. This machine, excavating beneath the La Bonanova neighborhood, is heading towards a future interchange between the two railway networks. After this milestone, only one kilometer of new underground gallery will remain to connect with the Lesseps station.
According to Territori sources, barring any setbacks, the entire tunnel for the central section of the L9 will be completed by autumn. In parallel, the Generalitat plans to begin architectural and installation work at the plaça de Maragall and Guinardó | Hospital de Sant Pau stations this summer.
The projection is that a new operational section of the L9/L10 with four new stations will open by the end of 2027. The total cost to complete the line is estimated at around one billion euros. The tunnel boring machine, a 95-meter assembly, features a 12-meter diameter cutting head that opens the path, followed by an earth chamber and machinery to automatically place the tunnel lining rings.
The recent subsidence detected at El Putxet occurred shortly after the tunnel boring machine's head passed beneath a block of eight affected buildings. Preliminary geological studies had already identified this area as delicate, with a change from granitic terrain to softer slates that could have caused over-excavation and subsequent surface collapse.
