St. Paul's is a London’s underground station located in the City of London financial district that takes its name from the nearby St Paul's Cathedral. The station is on the Central line, between Bank and Chancery Lane stations. During summer, commuters passing through this station need proper cooling. They were being kept cool in last summer (2015) by an innovative fan chiller system, which pumped cold air onto the eastbound Central line platform.
At the heart of the new system - a first for the Tube network and designed and built by LU's cooling team – is a ventilation fan that pulls fresh air in from the street. The air is then cooled by a water chiller system which circulates 16 litres of cold water every second around the pipes in the ventilation shaft, cooling the air by up to seven degrees before it is blown onto the platform. The huge fan is capable of moving the equivalent of 15 double-decker buses full of air every minute.
New Tube for London
In the past it had been challenging to lower the temperature on the Central line as traditional cooling systems had proved prohibitively expensive and difficult to install within the 115 year old tunnels and stations.
The New Tube for London will bring the first walk-through air-cooled trains on to the deep-level Tube network, which includes the Central line - with the first trains due to be introduced in the 2020s.
Until then, LU continues to seek innovative solutions to reduce temperatures during the summer months on the deep-level lines. Other measures currently aimed at cooling the Tube include:
- New air conditioned trains on the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, with 40% of the network covered by 2016
- The capacity of the underground St. Paul's station ventilation fans network has been doubled and eighty three fans have been restored
- Portable fans installed within ticket and concourse areas, to increase air circulation at a number of stations
- The creation of a Cooling Innovation Centre to explore new efficient and environmentally friendly methods to cool the Tube.
Big Engineering Challenge
David Waboso, LU's Capital Programmes Director, said, “We know travelling around London during the summer months can be uncomfortable which is why we are always looking for innovative ways to tackle the temperature. Cooling the Tube is a big engineering challenge, but we're making significant steps forward and, by the end of 2016, 40% of the Underground network will be served by air conditioned trains. Projects like the installation of a fan chiller system at St Paul's Tube station demonstrate how LU has some of the most skilled, creative people in the business when it comes to developing entirely new ways to cool London's Tube.”
In addition, a larger fan chiller system is being installed this summer (2016) at a mid-tunnel ventilation shaft on the Victoria line between Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road Tube stations.
Major Improvement
The work is being done to coincide with the period of major improvement works on the Victoria line this month, which will enable the operation of 36 trains per hour next year (2016). The new fan chiller system will be ready for next summer and mean more comfortable temperatures for passengers at the northern end of the Victoria line. LU's cooling team is developing proposals to continue the expansion of this innovative technology in the coming years.
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