Second South Gotthard TBM Arrives in Faido Three years and eight months after starting out from Bodio in February 2003 and driving some 13.5 km of the west Gotthard base tunnel, the second Herrenknecht TBM reached the multifunction station at Faido. The breakthrough took place on 26th October, 2006 with a deviation of only a few centimetres. Its twin had reached Faido on 6th September. Click here. With the arrival of the second TBM in the Faido multifunction station, mechanised tunnelling in the Gotthard base tunnel is currently at a stop. Both machines in the south will be overhauled and transported through the Faido multifunction station to resume driving in the direction of Sedrun in about six months time. The cutting heads of both machines will be enlarged by 60 cm to cope with the greater depth of rock and higher rock pressure between Faido and Sedrun.A number of different difficult geological zones were overcome along the approximately 15 km route to the multifunction station at Faido. Technical modifications to the TBMs in both the east and west tunnels enabled the advance rate to be improved.The other pair of Herrenknecht TBMs between Amsteg and the boundary of the Sedrun section have also reached their destination six months and nine months ahead of schedule respectively. The TBMs will be dismantled underground and the individual parts transported out of the tunnel on the construction railway. Driving on the other sections of the Gotthard base tunnel is also progressing well. On 1st November, 2006 two thirds (66.15% or 101.27 km) of the Gotthard base tunnel had been excavated out of the total 153.5 km of tunnels, galleries and cross passages. The total length driven in October 2006 was 893 metres. Visit www.herrenknecht.com and www.alptransit.ch 46/06.