[Job Story] Liebherr LB 25 Works on Mexican Railway Project

Grupo Olsa's Viking-themed Liebherr LB 25 is installing piles up to 33 m deep through hard basalt for the AIFA-Pachuca railway in Mexico. [Job Story] Liebherr LB 25 Works on Mexican Railway Project published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.

Oct 28, 2026 - 12:15

[Job Story] Liebherr LB 25 Works on Mexican Railway Project

Grupo Olsa has named its Liebherr LB 25 after Thor’s hammer and put it to work on 827 foundation piles for the new AIFA-Pachuca railway.

Machine names are usually left to the manufacturer. Grupo Olsa, a Mexican deep foundation contractor, chose its own: ‘Mjölnir‘, after Thor’s hammer in Norse mythology.

Company director Olga Sánchez discovered Viking culture on a trip to Europe and was struck by the power it symbolises. When Grupo Olsa added a new Liebherr LB 25 drilling rig, she had the uppercarriage decorated with a Viking motif and the name emblazoned on the rotary drive. It is the most powerful rig in this size class in the company’s fleet.

A railway that links the airport

The LB 25 is working on the new railway line between Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) near Mexico City and Pachuca de Soto, about 65 km away. The line is part of a national programme that is building several thousand kilometres of new railway to connect major cities and cut travel times, including journeys to and from the airport.

Grupo Olsa is relying on three Liebherr drilling rigs to install the foundation piles for the railway project

Grupo Olsa is installing 827 foundation piles for the project. Alongside the LB 25, it is using Liebherr LB 24 and LB 28 rigs.

The basalt problem

Using the Kelly drilling method, the LB 25 installs piles down to 33 metres, with diameters between 1.2 and 1.5 metres. The hardest part lies between 8 and 20 metres, where an extremely hard basalt layer tests both the rig and the drilling tool.

With a maximum torque of 252 kNm, the LB 25 is handling those conditions, and Liebherr says the combination of machine and experienced crew is keeping installation on track.

For foundation contractors, hard rock at mid-depth is one of the most expensive surprises a site can offer. Torque reserve and tool wear decide how many metres a day a rig can manage, and on a job with more than 800 piles, small differences in daily output quickly add up.