Le Perthus
The fastest way through the Pyrenees
The new highspeed line along the Mediterranean coast between the French Perpignan and the Spanish Figueres crosses under the Pyrenees at the Col du Perthus. The double-tube tunnel was excavated by two Double Shield TBMs by Herrenknecht. They started their drives on the Spanish side in August and October 2005, respectively. The two machines managed on their almost 8.2-kilometer-long drives at a distance of 25 to 35 meters between each other different hard rock formations. Early in October 2007, the western of the two machines successfully completed the tunnelling works. The breakthrough of the sister machine occured on November 23, 2007. The highspeed line for up to 350km/h was put into operation in 2010.
