Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Ltd celebrates Channel Tunnel Link completion
The opening of a prestigious rail link between London’s St Pancras International and the Channel Tunnel this month also marked the completion of a major contract for a world leader in the design, manufacture and instillation of electrical switchgear products.
Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Ltd has supplied nearly 200 of its Hawkvac 15 panels to the multi-billion pound project that has been completed in two stages.
The first phase, a 43 km stretch from the Channel Tunnel to Waterloo Station in London, opened in 2003 and involved the installation of 20 panels to meet a requirement for cost effective withdrawable switchgear solutions.
The extension of the high-speed rail link to St Pancras via East London has required the installation of a further 176 panels at a cost of more than £2.5 million over four years.
Explained Steve Dymond, Sales and Marketing Director at Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Ltd : “In recent years we have supplied switchgear to a number of high profile rail projects across the globe.
“The Hawkvac 15 panels installed on the Channel Tunnel link benefit from a metalclad, multi-compartment housing, that allows authorised work in safe areas whilst preventing access to live equipment.
“The medium voltage, indoor metalclad vacuum switchgear also provides a relatively inexpensive solution for rail projects such as this.