Last week, the IP Southern Anglia team in collaboration with the SSE Enterprise Rail and Pi Consult Limited successfully commissioned the new upgraded low voltage switch panels and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units at London Liverpool Street station.

In total, over 50 switch panels were replaced in 13 separate rooms along with the construction and commissioning of three new dedicated UPS equipment rooms to provide backup power should the main source fail. To give an order of magnitude, the switch panels feed approximately 2300 circuits and power the station along with the retail units.

To make sure that all key and daily service operations were fully functioning during the station’s operational hours meant that this complex and carefully planned programme required a collaborative effort between the IP Southern Anglia team, SSE, the station’s maintenance delivery unit, and the station duty and interface managers.

Overall the project has been a great success and delivered in a safe, timely and efficient manner while also meeting significant stakeholder expectation challenges through the minimisation of disruption to station operations.

In addition to the successful delivery, this project has also made a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions by replacing the existing station concourse lights with LED luminaires. Installing LED luminaries has reduced the power required to light the station concourse. This meant that the number of UPS units was reduced from five to three, there is a significant saving in the cost of lighting the station and that approximately 290,000 tonnes of CO2 are saved per year.