About The Company

London Underground’s history dates back to 1863 when the world’s first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, opened between Paddington and Farringdon, serving six intermediate stations. Since then, the Underground network, affectionately nicknamed the Tube by, has grown to 272 stations and 11 lines stretching deep into the capital’s suburbs and beyond.

Problem

Within the carriages, the legacy fibre optic connectors had corroded. We stripped the connector down to its individual parts, replacing the damaged connectors, cleaning each back to working order. We could then terminate and repair the harnesses onsite.

Solution

The first step was to assess the internal and external fibre optics onsite, in each of the carriages.

We reverse-engineered and manufactured all obsolete fibre optic connector parts, designing all repair procedures in accordance with the onsite regulations, including a termination kit.

Over several months, Alker performed onsite visits to conduct emergency repairs of the fibre optic connectors within the train carriages. We also refurbished the fibre optic link leads connecting two carriages.

Features

  • Dramatic reduction of the need for new leads, saving both costs and delivery times.
  • Reduced stock, Alker could hold replacement refurbished leads in-house for next-day delivery.
  • The near elimination of fibre optic loom replacement, saving labour and the cost of the loom.
  • Improved reliability for each carriage, and in turn, each complete train.
  • Increased transmission performance for each of the trains in service.
  • The Lifetime of the equipment will be extended as per the upgrade requirements.