Second Perthus BreakthroughTunnelling at the trans-Pyrenean Perthus tunnel on the Barcelona-Perpignan high speed link ended on 23rd November, 2007 close to Le Boulou in France, when TBM 'Tramontane' pulled down the last fraction of rock. Jean-Louis Borloo, French minister for ecology, sustainable development and land planning, attended the breakthrough with his Spanish counterpart Magdalena Alvarez, minister of development. Visit www.herrenknecht.comThe 2 x 8.3 km tunnel is the backbone on the 44.4 km Figueras-Perpignan section, awarded under a 50-year concession to TP Ferro, a 50/50 consortium affiliated to France's Eiffage and ACS Dragados of Spain. A total of 1.3 million cubic metres of rock has been extracted from the two tunnels, each of more than 9 metres in diameter while 10,912 reinforced concrete segmental rings, 40 centimetres thick and 40 tonnes each, have been installed prior to track laying. The twin tubes, each separated by 25 metres at their ends and 35 metres halfway through the path, are linked together by 41 cross passages every 200 metres for emergency interventions. 'Mistral', the other TBM, ended its job on 1st October although it started after 'Tramontane'. Click here. Towards the end of its job, 'Tramontane' had to cope with friable shales, which obliged her to advance with precaution. The total budget of the Figueras-Perpignan section, which will be commissioned in 2009 on schedule, is EUR944 million, of which EUR540 million of public subsidies. The tunnel alone will cost EUR805 million once completed. The completion of the Barcelona-Perpignan section was foreseen for 2009. Technical difficulties in the planned cross-city tunnels in Girona and Barcelona have obliged Spain to delay the opening date to 2012. Read E-News Weekly 26/2007. Click es/21 or fr/16. 49/07.