On 24 May, a proton beam arrived on the threshold of the LHC, passing down transfer line TI 8 to the LHC, which runs from the SPS towards the LHC, where it intersects just before point 8. The TI 8 line became operational in October 2004. Now a beam has passed along it for only the second time, on this occasion in preparation for the full LHC start-up. The beam was extracted from the SPS, sent down the 2.8 km transfer line and stopped just 15 m or so from the LHC tunnel.
