Passengers at Panama Metro's Albrook station in January 2024. Archive photograph; the Line 3 tunnel is not shown. Credit: TomasVial / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo source.
Excavation of the tunnel carrying Panama Metro's Line 3 beneath the Canal is complete after the tunneling machine reached Albrook on October 26. The milestone moves the project into further installation work, with passenger service still targeted for late 2028.
The approximately 4.5-kilometer tunnel connects the Farfán side of the project with Albrook. The Presidency said the machine began its journey in late 2024 and excavated beneath the Canal at a depth of about 65 meters.
Officials put overall Line 3 progress at roughly 82%. That project-wide estimate does not mean the railway is ready to carry passengers: the tunnel must be equipped and integrated with the rest of the system.
What follows the Panama Metro Line 3 tunnel excavation
Carlos Cedeño, the Metro's projects director, told TVN that work would now concentrate on running beams and electromechanical equipment. Train testing would then advance in stages toward Albrook.
The tunneling machine itself must be dismantled and removed through the reception shaft. TVN described the equipment as approximately 93 meters long, with a diameter of 13.5 meters.
Work inside the tunnel is at different stages. In the Farfán–Balboa section, concrete structures forming evacuation and safety passages have already been installed; running beams will sit above them. Installation of those structures continues in the Balboa–Albrook section, according to TVN's reporting.
The Presidency reported that excavation removed about 700,000 cubic meters of rock and soil and installed 2,295 concrete rings, each formed from nine segments. Those figures describe the completed excavation and lining work, not the remaining rail installations.
Connection at Albrook
Cedeño said Line 3 passengers would transfer to Line 1 at the same level in Albrook. The intended arrangement would allow a short walk between the two rail systems rather than a change between station levels.
A possible extension toward Costa Verde in La Chorrera remains at a different stage. A feasibility study is nearing completion, Cedeño said, but procurement and construction dates have not been confirmed.
For commuters in Panamá Oeste, the completed tunnel is a major construction step toward a new crossing. The next milestones are equipment installation, integration and train testing, followed by the opening authorities currently project for the end of 2028.