Abloy Security safeguards Channel Tunnel

Rail Link Engineering, the company responsible for the design and project management of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, has selected a high security Abloy master key system.

Rail Link Engineering, the company responsible for the design and project management of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), has selected a high security Abloy master key system to safeguard Section One of the CTRL which runs between the Channel Tunnel and Fawkham Junction in north Kent.

The CTRL is owned by London and Continental Railways Limited.

When it is completed in 2007 the high-speed line, which runs for 109km (68 miles) between St Pancras station in London and the Channel Tunnel, will be Britain's first major new railway for over a century.

The new line is being built in two sections: construction of Section One, which runs between the Channel Tunnel and Fawkham Junction in north Kent, began in October 1998 and was finished in September 2003 when the railway was opened, while work on Section Two began in July 2001 and completes the new line into London's St Pancras station.

Section Two is on schedule for completion next year.

The new railway will bring major transport and economic benefits to the UK.

For example, a non-stop journey from London will take two hours and 15 minutes to Paris and just one hour 51 minutes to Brussels.

Moreover, from 2009 when a new fleet of commuter trains is introduced, domestic journey times will be as much as halved, with a journey from London to Ashford taking just over 35 minutes compared with the current 75-minute journey time.

Rail Link Engineering specified Abloy padlocks, which have been specially designed to provide maximum resistance against physical attack, to secure track gates, cabinets, intakes and tunnel access gates.

The extremely tough padlocks feature a robust construction for optimum mechanical strength, as well as improved drill Protection, hardened steel housings, boron steel shackles and hardened stainless steel balls locking the shackle on both sides to enhance security still further.

To complete the security system Abloy cylinders were selected to secure equipment houses, signalling buildings and rooms, and engineering rooms.

All the products used in the CTRL form part of a cutting edge master key suite based on the high security Abloy Protec cylinder mechanism.

Protec uses Abloy's proven high security principle of rotating detainer discs but takes the technology further by incorporating two unique features: firstly, keys and discs that are cut on two radii, rather than the conventional single radius, and secondly, the use of a new disc blocking function making Protec virtually pickproof.

In addition, the use of a new design of disc controller, with smaller steel ball bearings, makes both the insertion of keys and the operation of the cylinder far smoother than previously possible, resulting in wear and tear to the key and lock being practically eliminated.

One of the major benefits of a master key system is that it enables individuals to hold just one key that allows admission to only those areas, which the person has authorisation to access, thus ensuring the highest levels of security and practicality.

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