Railway Concessionaire Orders Perthus TBM with Option for Second Machine - fr/16 & es/21Herrenknecht has received an order from TP Ferro, the concession company set up by ACS-Dragados of Spain and Eiffage of France, who will build the Perthus tunnel on the Perpignan-Figueras cross-border high speed rail section between France and Spain. The order is for one TBM with option for a second machine. The section includes a 2 x 8,230 m tunnel under Le Perthus Pass in the eastern Pyrenees. The machine is a hard rock double shield TBM. The excavation diameter of the tunnel is 9,960 mm. The shield features a 9,900 mm diameter. The Perthus tunnel will be lined with six 1.5 m-long segments plus one key segment. The tunnel's inner diameter after lining will be 8,700 mm. The TBM weighs approximately 1,500 tons and is about 140 m long. The total installed main drive power totals 4,900 kW (14 x 350 kW) for a total installed power of 8,900 kVA. The machine will deliver a maximum thrust force of 64,000 kN. The TBM will cut its way through granite, granodiorite, gneiss, schist, mylonite and diorite. The tunnel is characterised by a curve radius of 500 m, more or less 2% gradient and a cover ranging from 10 to 250 m. The contract has been signed on 16th June, 2004. Commissioning in La Jonquera, Spain is scheduled for the end of January 2005 for excavation start in March 2005. Click fr/16 & es/21. Visit www.herrenknecht.com 28/04.