Transfer of signal functionality to new signal equipment room

The Client: London Underground Ltd (LUL)
The Project: The Crossrail
Completed: On track to complete by end November 2010.

The Brief
The East-West Crossrail is part of the overall improvement to the City of London’s public transport network. This major new cross-London rail link is designed to serve London and the south-east of England. A new ticket hall needs to be constructed to the east of the new Farringdon station. To facilitate this, the existing, antiquated relay room is to be demolished and signalling functionality transferred to a new signal equipment room (SER).

SIMS was chosen to carry out the works on the basis of our proven track record, and for being able to deal comfortably with the unknowns and ever-changing issues that a technical and time-critical project such as this can throw up.

The Solution
As one of LUL’s principal project partners, SIMS has been engaged in an extensive signalling upgrade of the London Underground Network for the past year (2009–2010). With the Crossrail project, our focus is to provide modern signalling that will seamlessly integrate with existing lines while keeping service disruption to a minimum. The new SER will benefit the travelling public, given that improved signalling functionality produces a more reliable service. This in turn helps reduce journey times and over-crowding. Our solution is one that offers long-term efficiency while reducing both capital and operational costs, and involves:

  • Managing and implementing the engineering design, construction, testing and handover of the new SER.
  • Specifying and procuring all cables, equipment and materials necessary for the changeover of trackside equipment control from the existing relay room to the new SER in a single-planned closure.
  • Providing signalling mains power via trackside switch boxes.
  • Overseeing the replacement of existing coded track circuits with conventional capacitor track circuits with additional EDL filters for immunisation.
  • Replacing/relocating communication and information (C&I) systems.
  • Providing all necessary resources – including designers, checkers, installers, testers and TIC – and, where required, managing contractors, to ensure a smooth project delivery.