New cables complete vital power link at Blackfriars station
Balfour Beatty Engineering Services recently achieved a key deliverable, as part of the Blackfriars project team, when the installation of the permanent high voltage cable route through Blackfriars station was completed.
The work, which began back in mid-September was carried out on behalf of Network Rail. In charge of the work was project engineer Alan Hall, in close liaison with Mike Prosperino of Network Rail. No fewer than 19,000 metres of cable tubing and supporting metalwork were installed, nearly all in cramped or hard-to-access locations. All components arrived on stillages (storage frames) craned onto spots along the platform, but from there onwards much manhandling was required to move the tubes and supports to the locations where they were being installed.
All of this installation work was carried out by a team made up of 20 Balfour Beatty and VGC people led by Billy Stewart. Other key players were Trevor Baldwin, Andy Brown, Tam Daly, Michael Hutchins and Nick Norman. Special honours go to Stuart Bell, who managed to squeeze into the smallest locations. Cable pulling was subcontracted by Network Rail to SRS Ltd as a separate operation.
All cables are now in place, running below or alongside the new Platform 1. They are due to be energised at 33 thousand volts (33kV) on 28 December and staff working near to them must be extremely vigilant to avoid contact, as we want each and every one of our people to go home safe.
From that date the cables will carry the main feed from the national grid into the substation at Ludgate Cellars (behind the Black Friar public house). This is where the 33kV AC power is converted into the 750V DC traction supply used by Thameslink trains.
Well done to all involved in achieving this milestone and particularly to Alan Hall, who has stuck at this task for so long! Although largely unseen, this operation is a crucial element of the Blackfriars upgrade, which is why we should all recognise the effort and hard work that has gone into this successful endeavour.
Posted: Monday 14 February 2011