Fibre Reinforcement from SI Concrete SystemsFibermesh and Novocon are two of the best-known brand names in fibre reinforcement for shotcrete, and both come from SI Concrete Systems. By manufacturing a complete range of polypropylene, steel and nylon reinforcement fibres, SI Concrete Systems can offer a solution to meet the specific needs of every project, assisting in the selection of admixtures, mix design, equipment and shotcrete techniques. The company business theme is ease of use, built upon a full understanding of shotcrete technology, its engineering and design, and the handling, conveying, distribution and application of the product. For more about SI Concrete Systems, click on their logolink in the right hand panel, or visit www.siconcretesystems.com E-News Weekly - more links means more sales!There are many ways to get tunnelling industry news: you can have it immediate and unedited, using horribly expensive newswire services; you can have it up to six weeks out-of-date, in your increasingly expensive monthly magazine; or you can have it fast, freshly-researched, to-the-point, and interactive, by low-cost e-mail newsletter. If accuracy of reporting, speed of delivery, quality of links, and cost of service are priorities, nothing can beat E-News Weekly from tunnelbuilder. Backed by the most skilled and effective news gathering team in the industry, E-News Weekly offers a four-page appraisal of bids, awards, and work in progress, with news and views from all sectors of the tunnelling world. A snapshot of the week's activity, together with prime links, delivered to your desk in easily readable pdf format! Small tunnels, big tunnels - in design, under construction or refurbishment - they are all covered. So, whether your interest is in securing the next TBM sale, or supplying the paint for the white lines on the tunnel road surface, E-News Weekly is a fundamental ingredient to your success. To read the current issue, click here. To order a subscription for 2004 at 2003 prices, click here. Order E-News Weekly now, and help your company towards a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Metrosur - tunnelbuilder project of the year 2003 Madrid Metro has come a long way since the first 4 km-long line was opened in 1919. Over the following 75 years, inaugurations of new lines and extensions took the system to 120 km in length. Then, in a rapid expansion programme between 1995 and 1999, another 56 km of lines with 38 stations were added. The existing lines 1, 4, 7, 9 and 10 were extended, and two new lines were started. Line 11 was commenced at the Plaza Eliptica interchange with line 6, and the very important line 8 connection was made between line 4 at Mar de Cristal and Barajas international airport. The latter has now been extended to Nuevos Ministerios in the centre of Madrid, where a 32-desk airline check-in facility has been installed as part of a major transport interchange between metro, suburban railway, taxi and bus services. The trip from Madrid city centre to the airport now takes just 20 minutes, without the encumbrance of baggage at a cost of just €1.10. During the 1995-1999 expansion, Madrid successfully established its position as the metro tunnelling capital of the world. Nowhere else have so many stations and tunnels been added to a system so efficiently, quickly, and frugally. The cost per linear kilometre of the Madrid Metro expansion, including rolling stock, came to just $30.3 million. Compare this with, say, Paris Meteor at $155 million, or London Jubilee Line Extension at a whopping $375 million! As a result, the 1999-2003 plan to join together the five towns of Alcorcon, Mostoles, Fuenlabrada, Getafe, and Leganes, to the south west of Madrid, was warmly received. This new line 12, or Metrosur as it is popularly known, comprises a 40.5 km-long underground circle line with 27 stations. It is connected into the Madrid metro system by an 8 km-long extension of line 10, which has also been upgraded to take new, high-capacity rolling stock. Metrosur, apart from linking the five towns, also interchanges with suburban railway stations, bus termini, hospitals, universities and shopping centres, and provides residents with a fast metro route to the heart of Madrid. The new line not only reduces commuting time, but also binds the communities together, and is a spur to commercial development. There is no doubt that Metrosur has become the yardstick for future new underground systems. It had a supportive public, a proven design and construction team, top class equipment, and responsible political direction. However, it still takes dedication, skill and resilience to bring such major schemes to fruition. Comunidad de Madrid, which provides transportation infrastructure for the Spanish capital, holds the following caveats: project decisions within 24 h; direct accountability and responsibility; safe construction techniques; early anticipation of problems; continuous cost control; and powerful equipment. As a result, its projects are delivered on time, within budget, and with minimum inconvenience. Our congratulations go to Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, who, as President of Comunidad de Madrid at the time, was top man responsible for the project, and his team led by Prof Manuel Melis Maynar, President of Metro Madrid. Sr Ruiz-Gallardon was voted in as Mayor of Madrid, with an absolute majority, in the May, 2003 elections. Metrosur is surely the most significant project to be completed in 2003, and thoroughly deserving of the title tunnelbuilder project of the year. For the full Metrosur story in downloadable pdf format, click here. For the construction history of the project visit es/24. For an insight into the operation of Madrid Metro visit www.madrid.org/metrosur/ At this time of year, there is little or no activity on tunnelling bids and awards, so our normal reporting service is suspended until 5th January, 2004. We will, however, report breaking news over the festive season. Next week, we will catch up on the 2003 Recordbreakers. 52/03. Jared Newsletter Jared Associates sends festive greetings to clients and readers, wishing everybody a happy holiday and prosperous New Year. To read our newsletter, click here. 52/03.