From London to San Sebastián: Puertas Padilla joins the new Topo project

The Murcia-based company has manufactured the technical and fire-rated doors for the new stations, adding the Basque project to a track record that includes major railway infrastructure such as the London and Rome metro systems.

The new Topo stations bear the mark of Murcia. Puertas Padilla has manufactured the technical and fire-rated doors installed as part of the major transformation of San Sebastián’s metropolitan railway, one of the most ambitious projects in its recent history. The project builds on the experience of a company whose doors have already been installed underground in the London and Rome metro systems.

The railway project has reached several key milestones in recent months. In July, the new underground section between Altza, in San Sebastián, and Galtzaraborda, in Errenteria, entered service. The project includes a new double-track section and the new underground Pasai Antxo station, which is already serving passengers.

At the same time, work continues on the railway link that will allow the Topo to run through the centre of San Sebastián. Train testing began this September, marking one of the final stages before the line enters service. According to plans announced by the Basque Government, the new connection could open to the public before Christmas.

Puertas Padilla is part of this transformation, adding San Sebastián to a growing list of railway projects in Spain and abroad.

“Being part of the new Topo is not simply about adding another project to the list; it means returning to an environment we know well — infrastructure where failure is not an option,” says Lorenzo Parejo, Sales Director at Puertas Padilla. “An underground station requires every door to be considered down to the smallest detail, and that level of precision is exactly what we have been refining for almost forty years.”

Doors designed to perform underground

An underground station has little in common with a conventional building. The constant movement of trains generates pressure waves — the well-known piston effect — as well as continuous vibrations and humid conditions. These factors are combined with heavy passenger traffic and the particular configuration of tunnels and platforms. All of this requires solutions specifically developed for these environments, capable of maintaining their performance year after year with no room for failure.

Puertas Padilla has a dedicated range of tunnel doors designed for installation in railway infrastructure and spaces continuously exposed to the effects generated by passing trains.

These are complemented by the company’s fire-rated and technical doors, designed to compartmentalise the different areas within stations. In an underground environment, with thousands of people and limited evacuation routes, compartmentation is a critical safety element: it helps contain a potential fire, protects technical areas and installations, and keeps escape routes clear for the time required to evacuate.

For the Topo project, the supply was carried out through Lanbieta, a Puertas Padilla distributor, which facilitated the incorporation of the company’s solutions into the new railway infrastructure.

From Madrid to London, Rome and Lima

San Sebastián joins Puertas Padilla’s long-standing involvement in major infrastructure projects both in Spain and internationally.

Outside Spain, the company has participated in projects for the London Underground and Rome Metro, two of Europe’s major metropolitan networks. However, it is across Spain’s railway network that the company’s presence is particularly extensive.

This international experience also extends to other strategic infrastructure projects. In Peru, Puertas Padilla is involved in the project to create an emergency, urgent assistance and information system for Metropolitan Lima and Callao, an initiative in a field where safety plays a central role.

Its doors are installed at Atocha station in Madrid and along the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed railway line, as well as on Line 9 of the Barcelona Metro. The company also has a strong presence in metropolitan transport: Madrid Metro, one of Europe’s largest metro networks, where all the doors are from the brand, as well as the Seville and Málaga metro systems and stations including Murcia del Carmen and León.

This specialisation has enabled the company to bring its expertise in fire-rated and technical doors to projects where safety and continuous operation are part of everyday requirements.

The new Topo now adds San Sebastián to this map of railway projects.

From Cartagena to more than 60 countries

Puertas Padilla manufactures its products in El Albujón, Cartagena, supplying both the domestic and international markets. With almost four decades of experience, the company specialises in fire-rated, technical and security doors and currently has a presence in more than 60 countries.

Its participation in the new Topo also reflects the growing importance of major infrastructure projects within the company’s activities and its ability to bring products manufactured in Murcia to landmark projects both in Spain and abroad.

Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Málaga, London, Rome, Lima and now San Sebastián are all part of a journey that begins at the same place: the Puertas Padilla factory in Cartagena.