PROJECT PROFILE
BELFAST GRAND CENTRAL STATION
BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP’S COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN-AND-CONSTRUCT WORKS EXTENDED BEYOND BELFAST GRAND CENTRAL STATION TO INCLUDE SYSTEMS SPANNING RAIL AND BUS LINKS ACROSS NORTHERN IRELAND… TRACK & SIGNALLING CONTROL SYSTEMS
Belfast Transport Hub is the largest intermodal transport hub in Ireland, delivering rail and bus links across Northern Ireland. Babcock International Group (Babcock) was commissioned to design and construct new signalling and signalling control systems for the Belfast area, as well as constructing the new track layout in and around the station, which included control systems supporting Belfast Grand Central Station. Comprehensive works encompassed two gantries, two principal power supply points, 20 functional power supply points, 12 under-track crossings, 15km of new power cable, 4.8km of track, 8km of new cable route and 50km of new lineside cable. Babcock also installed 1,800m of drainage, 78 control equipment sites, 19 sets of points, 25 signals, 28 location cabinets and a 10Giga bit telecom network. The team’s involvement in the project spanned before August 2017 to August 2024, with 350 design submissions totalling 6,000 pages delivered by a team of over
25 design engineers. Both the design and the construction on site were overseen by the contractor’s engineering managers, railway industry compliance roles to ensure the safe operation of the railway comprising a team of around 25 engineers, construction managers, project managers and commercial staff. The installation consisted of the off-site build of location cases, which were then tested off site in Babcock’s depot, using local material suppliers to expedite delivery, and then transported, installed and tested without fault. All crane lifts for gantries and signal structures were carried out successfully, using the Safety Inspection app and Toolbox talks with safety stand downs regularly undertaken. A complex element of the project involved replacing the Belfast Central signal box with a new Northern Ireland Railways Operating Centre (NIROC) at Lanyon Place Station, which will eventually come to cover
the remainder of Northern Ireland with this modern computerised control centre. The arrival of the first train controlled from the new NIROC system at Belfast Grand Central Station represented a major project milestone. The project was carried out with an NEC X12 Partnering Clause which fostered close working relationships with the Farrans- Sacyr JV. Various scope items were swapped between the parties as well as the sharing of plant, which led to time and cost savings for the client. During an unprecedented 13-week summer blockade in 2024, Babcock’s team spent 100,800 hours on site removing 17,000 tonnes of spoil and installing 18,000 tonnes of fresh stone and 2,200 sleepers as part of the track renewal works. The blockade ended with a seven-day wheels-free period during which signalling install and testing teams were able to commission the railway and facilitate a period of driver training before the station opened to the public in autumn 2024.
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