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.
FKI Switchgear 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 FKI Switchgear: “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.
“When the first train arrives at St Pancras on November 14 we will feel extremely proud to have played such an important role in the completion of such a prestigious project,” he added.
Once the whole line is fully operational, London to Paris journey times will be cut to around two and quarter hours, with Brussels possible in under two hours.
FKI Switchgear is part of the FKI Group and has manufacturing facilities in the UK, Australia and the United States.
