There has been a railway station in Holmestrand, Norway since 1881, but in 2016 the city opened one of the world’s most modern railway stations, which now plays a major role in the infrastructure of the entire region. The station is built entirely inside Holmestrandsfjellet, the mountain in Holmestrand, in one of the world’s largest mountain halls.

The mountain hall is 870m long, 30m wide, with four tracks. There are two platforms, both 250m in length. Created inside the mountain to facilitate express trains with a speed of 250 km/h, the mountain hall can accommodate high speed, while avoiding sharp curves and minimizing heights.

Coromatic, the leading Nordic critical facilities solutions provider, were contracted to provide the power supply for all vital equipment in the case of a power failure.

Working closely with Sveinung Vegum, Project Engineer from NLI Elektrosystemer, the team from Coromatic were instrumental in choosing the right type of generator set for the project. It was necessary to manage cooling and air through a central control system and to achieve a complete functional solution, ventilation channels were created throughout the station hall.

Coromatic delivered an FG Wilson P550 generator set, with the design team installing different tubes underneath the roof of the tunnel, managing heights and narrow spots effortlessly. Due to the challenge of the pressure from passing trains and the location deep within the mountain, the generator set was supplied with a heat exchanger system placed in a technical “corridor” at the station area.

Coromatic also designed and delivered the control system for the generator set. In the case of a power outage, the generator set will start up and supply all vital equipment in the main switchboard. In the case of a long-term power outage, the fuel tank, installed with automatic filling functionality, allows the generator set to operate for as long as three days. All operational information is monitored remotely by Bane NOR.

Additionally, the system has a UPS installed to secure power supply in the time period between power failure and generator set operations. During tests, the generator set has delivered power after just 8 seconds.

Today, all technical operations are running smoothly and according to plan. Holmestrand station has fulfilled the requirements for both effective public transportation and excellent use of land in a region of growth. The station has become a key transportation hub facilitating growth and development in the region.

Find more information on coromatic.com