Pokesdown Substation has been in a state of disrepair and the maintainer of the assets commissioned the
renewal of all electrical equipment, including Rectifier Transformer Units, DC and HV Switchgear and
Auxiliary Transformers. As a result it was proposed to design and build and entire new substation with
parallel construction to the existing substation. The civil design works have comprised of PACE 1 ES3,
PACE 2 ES4 and ES5 as well as contractor support at PACE 3 ES6, which included temporary works
designs.
The Southern Region generally modularises substations, however due to the limited space at Pokesdown
and the electrical arrangements this was not feasible, and a new two storey building was designed using
a combination of reinforced concrete, structural steel and masonry solutions. AJMS delivered the design
of the new buildings as well as integration of the building into the limited land space with required
earthworks, retaining walls and slope stability.
AJMS scope also included the integration of all disciplines, equipment and track cabling to the civil
designs. The project proved very challenging due to the complexity of the design and it’s location. A
collaborative approach coupled with technical experience helped to make the complete design a
success.
