Train tunnel closure

© Olaf Tausch - wikimedia

Sóller train.

A MAJOR tunnel for trains will be suspending its services from November this year for three months. 

It has been reported that the vault inside needs to be reinforced to improve railway movement, which was caused by a drought. 

This means that the Sóller train will stop service as the goal is to carry out work to the tunnel that has previously undergone structural changes over the past two years.

The tunnel crosses the Serra Major d’Alfàbia and is 2,876m in length, making it the longest network that links Sóller with the island’s capital. 

President of the Sóller railway, Oscar Mayol, has justified the closure of the line, saying that the stretch is too long for service to continue. 

Technicians evaluated the tunnel in 2015 and while doing so, detected a slight movement in the tunnel structure. 

They also noticed contraction in the materials that the tunnel is made out of, that mainly surrounds the underground gallery. 

The movements that have occurred are on a small scale, mainly due to the lack of rain on the island. However, despite it only measuring to a few millimetres, this has made a big difference over time. 

Mayol has confirmed that the work will cause no danger, but it is needed to get the structure back to how it is supposed to be: “We do not know how long this action could take,” said Mayol.

The unknown timeframe is what made the company apply for authorisation to have a three month period. 

The official reopening date is scheduled for release in early February 2017

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