Reston station in the Scottish Borders is a new stop on the East Coast Main Line linking Reston to Edinburgh and stations to London.  Services opened on 23 May 2022 and Forte Engineering played an integral part in helping Network Rail, Scotrail and the principal contractor BAM Nuttall achieve their ambitions.

Construction started on the £20m station development in early 2021 to construct a two-platform station with 70 car parking spaces and a new road, including lifts and a footbridge connecting both platforms, including all electrical and mechanical, civils, draining and telecoms work.   

Forte Engineering were contracted by BAM Nuttall in October 2021 to develop all the mechanical, electrical and telecoms work as part of the package.  Works delivered included

Station Lighting

123 lighting columns have been installed at Reston Station. This installation was undertaken in phases, with the platform lighting being installed first. Although out with the scope of the original contract, Forte Engineering were also asked to design and install a secondary duct system along both platforms. This was turned around quickly and efficiently and allowed for the speedy installation of all the platform assets (lighting columns, customer information screens, CCTV columns etc)

There was also an installation of 46 flange mounted lighting columns on the platforms. Forte Engineering carried out extensive lux level testing to prove that the design and installation was compliant with current electrical standards, which was witnessed and approved by the NCB, an external standards agency that approves all aspects of a new build train station to ensure they are compliant.

Additional design changes during the project resulted in extra lighting being installed above the entrances to the lifts. Forte Engineering successfully designed and put in place a conduit system which allowed all lighting to be wired and protected, maintaining the aesthetics of the lift shafts.

Accessible for All

Reston Station has been furnished with escape stair and escape path lighting, which was installed by Forte Engineering. Each platform has two escape stairs that are to be used in case of emergency and making the station Accessible for All. Each gate is fitted with an auxiliary contact which ensures that when a gate opens it energises the lights on all the escape stairs and escape paths ensuring a clear and visible route for passengers in the event of an emergency.

Carpark Lighting

To account for the expected future footfall off passengers, Reston Station includes a 70 space car park. Forte Engineering fitted 44 root mounted lighting columns, 22 of which have two luminaires to allow for adequate lighting levels across car park spaces, EVC charging points and disabled parking spaces. Again, this installation was subject to rigorous lux level testing which Forte Engineering successfully carried out and had approved by the NCB.

Station Small Power

Forte Engineering managed the installation of a number of 230v ‘small power’ assets across Reston Station, including the customer information screens (CIS) of which there are 6 in total, 2 on each platform and 2 in the car park. An electrical supply was installed in the car park area for a new Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) to accommodate the requirement of Reston being an un-manned station.  

Telecoms

A major element of this project was the installation of the stations 62 CCTV camera system. Forte Engineering successfully designed a containment network to allow the wiring and installation of cameras above the lift entrances on the new footbridge. A series of steel conduits in the external cladding of the lift shafts were installed before the final stone cladding was put in place. A significant amount of planning and discussion was required between us, BAM Nuttall and other contractors. Forte Engineering played a pivotal role in ensuring that the aesthetics of the lift shafts and glass canopies were maintained. All CCTV images are fed back to Dunfermline CSC where they can be monitored and recorded remotely.

As well as the CCTV installation, we also successfully installed six CIS screens, a CCTV PA system and three public help points which offer a direct line to Dunfermline CSC and allow passengers to seek help or assistance. The public help points are also covered by the station CCTV and allows for a clear line of communication between Scotrail staff and passengers.

Electrical supplies to lifts

Forte Engineering successfully worked alongside Stannah to provide electrical supplies for the lift equipment. Each lift motor room consisted of a 230v connection and a 415v connection. Forte Engineering installed this and provided test certification to allow Stannah to complete the installation and commission the passenger lifts on both platforms.

Electrical supplies and commissions for the EV charging points

SSE supplied the station with a dedicated 415v supply to power 6 electric vehicle charging points. Forte Engineering installed and commissioned the 6 EVC points, including the termination of the DNO supply and full commissioning and testing of the TT earthing system.

This initiative was part of ScotRail and Network Rail’s ambition to encourage more electric vehicles and reduce the carbon footprint of Reston Station.

Earthing and bonding

Reston Station is part of the East Coast Mainline and is electrified with 25,000v Overhead Lighting Equipment. Forte Engineering in conjunction with SPL successfully installed track bonding across both platforms. This involved the bonding of every metallic asset on the platforms to the common bonding conductor, eliminating the risk of electric shock to passengers.

Commissioning of a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) backup system

The Battery Room of Reston Station houses a static inverter (UPS) which was installed and tested by Forte Engineering. This complex piece of kit offers stand by power in the event of a power cut and offers a run time of 18 hours. This allows the station lighting to operate fully for a time of 18 hours in an event where there is no electrical supply present. Furthermore, the system itself is monitored remotely and can identify power outages or faults and notifies Network Rails maintenance team. This has been subject to rigorous testing and commissioning and again has been witness tested and approved by the NCB.

The NCB were delighted with the seamless transition from mains power to battery power.

This was a challenging project, particularly around design, impacting on delivery dates for all parties delivering works. Forte Engineering worked closely with the BAM CRE (Construction Responsible Engineer) to ensure all M&E and telecoms works were delivered within the time parameters set and to a very high standard.  At times there were approximately 22 individuals onsite delivering the project to meet the clients’ expectations and timescales in line with the project’s electrical design specifications.

Richard Foster, Project Manager, BAM Nuttall said, “Forte Engineering has been instrumental in the project to deliver the new train station at Reston  on behalf of Bam Nuttall.  The project had many difficulties, not least the particularly challenging timescale in which the work was carried out, but also the many variations that were incorporated along the way. Both Chris & Alistair from Forte Engineering were fantastic, in regard to their close co-operation on site, which meant the job was delivered to a very high standard.  The whole team at Forte Engineering have been excellent in all day-to-day dealings during the implementation phase, and ensured all work completed was delivered to the extremely high standards we impose.  We look forward to working with Forte Engineering on other exciting projects in the future".