Using LEDs to light up the stations, escalator shafts and concourses of the Elizabeth line was a bold move from Transport for London; especially as when they decided on its use back in the late 2000s, LED technology was yet to break into the lighting world.
But this did not stop Paul Kerrigan, the lead electrical engineer responsible for Crossrail’s line-wide lighting solutions and uninterruptible power supply, and his team from taking the plunge to make this a reality.
In fact, the Elizabeth line is one of the first sub-surface infrastructure projects to be lit entirely by LEDs, and the decision to use the technology was based on industry evidence that its use will help reduce energy consumption and maintenance requirements.
“We decided on its use during the very early development stages of LED technology. We had prototyped none of the designs then – it was purely artistic impressions and drawings of the concept,” Kerrigan tells E&T. “So, when it...