Back-up power for train station transformer maintenance

One of Scotland’s major train stations needed to carry out essential maintenance on a transformer. Back-up power was needed in case another transformer at the site should fail.

Space for the hire equipment within the station’s basement was limited and a low ceiling added height restrictions. And as the station is located in a busy area of the city centre, deliveries could potentially cause disruption to traffic.

We needed to come up with a plan that kept trains running to schedule and that didn’t upset those using the surrounding area.

We provided a 1250 kVA generator as back-up for the transformer under maintenance and a standby 1250 kVA to back that up, as a contingency. We linked them with an automatic control panel to switch between each other, if needed.

We delivered our generators at 4am, when the area surrounding the station was at its quietest and the council closed the road to ensure minimal inconvenience.

We mounted the container generators on specially procured trailers so we could carefully reverse them through the narrow entrance and into position. We also modified them by taking off their exhaust stacks so they could fit under the low ceiling, and installed bespoke ducting to vent the fumes out of the basement.

We stepped up and implemented a logistically-challenging project. We’d worked with this customer before, so they were well aware of our can-do attitude and trusted us to put a suitable plan in place.

By modifying the generators we were able to position them out of the way in the basement. Our back-up system provided power for the transformer to be maintained and having a further generator on standby ensured there was no disruption in power.

Trains kept running and the station kept its lights on – so everything remained on track – just as we promised.