For over 50 years, Birmingham New Street Gateway has been a prominent feature in the history of Britain’s rail industry earning its status as one of the largest rail interchanges in the UK and the largest station outside London. Since its construction in the 1960’s, it has become out-dated and overcrowded. As a result, a partnership of Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands, Centro and the Department for Transport was created to deliver a massive transformation project that would turn the station into a 21st century hub for the entire region, with capacity to handle up to 250,000 passengers each day by 2015
The UPS contract was awarded to industrial manufacturing company AEG, the world’s leading Power Solutions Company who ensure continuous power for rugged industrial infrastructure applications including power generation, power transmission and distribution. AEG presented Xact Power Ltd with the challenging task of installing, commissioning, testing and assessing the handover of 21 UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) systems ranging in size from 20kVA – 160Kva throughout the Birmingham New Street Gateway Project.
Xact Power Ltd is highly accredited. Our ability to deliver challenging, high quality projects within demanding schedules can be attributed to the experience drawn from the data centre industry over the recent growth years. Our modern approach to UPS installation and strict testing regime was recognised by the commissioning teams at BNS and our complicated deadlines integrated seamlessly. Our Head office situated in the prestigious Brindley Place meant that we were ideally located to complete the installation and with our dedicated team of experienced, factory trained multi-disciplinary engineers who are specialists in UPS installation and maintenance; we completed the project on time and within budget. Our impeccable, reliable, efficient and expert engineers were crucially importance to the redevelopment project.
The tasks assigned included environmental advice regarding removal of redundant batteries from site; installing the manufacturer’s numerous UPS systems throughout Birmingham New Street Station in a professional, effective and safe manner. Our team of specialists installed, commissioned and Site Acceptance Tested (SAT) all systems with in-house inspection & testing of all electrical equipment, always adhering to strict Xact Power Ltd Health and Safety commitments and the on-site Health and Safety Regulations demanded by the principal contractor. After installation, simulated load testing was used to enhance testing of the UPS Systems for the client which was managed and controlled by one of our specialist UPS technicians to ensure operational confidence for the client to ensure safety procedures and correctly document the UPS’s effectiveness should one of the 250,000 passengers become reliant on the emergency lighting system. Finally operational/functional user training was provided for Network Rail Staff, a fundamental part of the project and key in building new relationships with our client to safely oversee the handover.