Keeping a Train Station Control Room Live During Jacking – Woolloongabba

Problem

Shore Hire was contacted by a client who needed a bespoke propping and hydraulic jacking solution for a Brisbane train station undergoing major construction works to make it more accessible and safe for customers.

As part of this update, the station’s control room needed to be raised to allow construction work to be completed underneath the building, and so the structure matched the height of new buildings and facilities being added to the train station.

The main challenge with this project was while the train station itself was closed, the control room manages the train signalling system, so it needed to remain operational even while being lifted and during the construction work.

Solution

In order to meet the client’s needs, we provided the temporary works design for the jacking, propping, and lateral supports, and a team of propping and jacking specialists to assist with the install and lift.

The work was carried out in the rail corridor next to live train tracks and active overhead lines, so we were restricted in how high we could lift the building to avoid the high-voltage danger zone.

Our first step in raising the control room was to install a temporary propping system, consisting of Aluminium Tilt Props and our Shore Prop 200s, and our hydraulic jacks underneath the building to get it ready for controlled lift.

Our team then used our Sync Master, a computer-enabled system that allows multiple jacks to run simultaneously from one interface. This enabled us to raise the building safely and efficiently to its desired height, 1.7m off the ground.

After the building was lifted to this height, personnel and machinery could access the area beneath it to carry out civil, electrical, and plumbing works. Once this was done, the building was lowered to its new permanent height of 1.2m. All of this was seamlessly achieved through Shore Hire’s propping and jacking system and expert team.

Special care was taken with all aspects of this project, from the design to the jacking and propping, to ensure that the building remained fully operational and to give the client a smooth and uninterrupted experience.