[ Project focus: King’s Cross ]
The King’s Cross development will see the restoration of the original Victorian façade and a new public square in front
could then simply plug them into the modular wiring system.
Centre of excellence A reliable supply of electricity to the station is provided by the King’s Cross Energy Centre, which houses a primary electrical substation. UK Power Networks’ brief was to provide power from its
City Road site to the new substation, going from 132kV to 11kV and providing a supply of 66MVA at King’s Cross. The trench dug from City Road to the station was completed without any major problems along the route – which is highly unusual for central London.
The project has been designed to allow for any reconfigurations and upgrades the site may need in the future. Chris Glover, head of commercial services at UK Power Networks, states: ‘The substation has been built to a unique specification, but the equipment itself is standard. The only thing different here to one of our own substations is that the 11kV board is not owned by UK Power Networks.’
Business as usual Working in a live transport environment presents three major challenges – limited windows of opportunity in which key works can be carried out, major safety considerations, and the unrelenting scrutiny of the travelling public. This situation was intensified by the fact that Network
Rail is a highly visible public body. ‘While the work was being carried out, King’s Cross had to continue to operate as normally as possible,’ Grainger explains. ‘To avoid disruption to train services, significant elements of the work were carried out during the night and weekend.’
Due to the sheer scale of the task, the project required excellent planning, coordination and collaboration from all parties in order to achieve best practice and eliminate the risk of injury. In addition to weekly meetings, daily activity briefings were carried out to inform all those working on-site of any changes as they happened, and the risks associated with any new operational procedures were fully explained. The objective was to complete the Western Concourse before the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This was achieved and, following an official ceremony on 14 March, it opened to passengers four days later. At the ICE London Civil Engineering Awards 2012, the King’s Cross redevelopment scheme was a joint winner of the Re-engineering London prize. Judges praised the semi-dome shaped steel lattice Western Concourse roof as ‘already iconic’, and noted that the programme has been completed on time and within budget, all while the station was kept operational and safe for passengers, staff and the construction workforce.
End of the line After London 2012, the ‘temporary’ structure – built on the front of the site in 1972 – will be ripped down. Forming the final part of the project, and due for completion in autumn 2013, it will reveal the station’s original façade again. The final word goes to Network Rail’s Graham Goodwin, who concludes, ‘This project has been carried out without any closures at the station and it is already making a real difference for everyone who uses King’s Cross. I’m delighted with the response to the Western Concourse, and the quality of the work clearly demonstrates that NG Bailey operates at the very pinnacle of its profession.’
September 2012 ECA Today 41
The project has been designed to allow for any reconfigurations and upgrades the site may need in the future
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