Electrifying central London

Ainscough Crane Hire carried out a lifts in a confined area as part of an ongoing upgrade of the electricity supply in central London, UK.

A Liebherr LTM1200-5.1 equipped with its maximum 76 tonnes of counterweight, was used to lift three individual 7.5 MVA transformers for installation at a new building that had been constructed below road level to supply electricity to St. Thomas Hospital and the surrounding area.

Access was a key consideration, as the lift needed to take place on a busy route over the River Thames, which is in close proximity to the Houses of Parliament and often packed with tourists.

"In order to minimise disruption for the public we took advantage of planned weekend road resurfacing closures in the immediate area and obtained approval from the Transport for London Authority to co-ordinate the additional traffic management that would enable us to rig and position the crane on Westminster Bridge Road," said David Hodson, contract lift manager at Ainscough.

Public safety was a key priority and 160 m of pedestrian fencing was used to cordon off the area, including full height fencing to isolate the crane and ancillary equipment. The transformers, which had a maximum weight of 18 tonnes each, were then carefully positioned using a horizontal lifting radius of 25 metres.