Medway Tunnel

The Medway Tunnel is dual a carriageway motorway tunnel that was built in the early 1990s as part of a major regeneration of the Rochester and Chatham riverbanks.

Today the tunnel is used by 50,000 drivers each day and is a vital part of the local infrastructure. Like all tunnels, Medway requires a constant and clean supply of electricity to power lighting, ventilation, security and safety systems.

Paul Anton Ltd. was commissioned to design, supply and install a simplified UPS system that would provide power to the tunnel in the event of a mains electricity supply failure, maintaining essential life safety systems.

The original system at the East Services Building comprised of three UPS units, two primary 32-KW UPS, supported by a redundant one-off 64-KW UPS.

Our engineers simplified this to a single 80-KW modular system, which has a spare redundant power module that provides the same support resilience as the three old UPS units. The new system has resulted in electrical consumption savings, as well as cutting the need for expensive cooling systems for the old inefficient system. 
 

The existing three-UPS units at the West Services Building were set up in a parallel redundant architecture  with a 160-KW load and batteries that were at the end of their life. 

 

We replaced the system with two off parallel 200-KW modular UPS units, which provided the same support resilience as the old units, but negated the need for the additional UPS.

 

As the power load increased and decreased, as dictated by the lighting required in the tunnel, the modules could further be rested and cycled when demand was low.

 

The new UPS system has provided cost savings to the client, as fewer batteries were required, plus long term savings through reduced electrical consumption, cooling of the heat loss and the on-going service and maintenance requirements. 

 

Both systems were installed and certified to NICEIC standards with a full 3-year hardware warranty.