Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5

Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5

At 40m high, 396m long and 176m wide, Terminal 5 (T5) at Heathrow is the largest free standing building in the UK. When it opens to the public in March 2008, the terminal will be the start of a new era for air passenger experience and maintain Heathrow’s reputation as not just Europe’s busiest airport, but also one of it’s best.

Firstco has been involved in a number of roles on the T5 project since 2000. As part of the project 13.5km of tunnels were bored including the 1.3km-long Airside Road Tunnel - the UK’s seventh longest rail tunnel. Firstco project managed the delivery of the tunnel’s Controls and Communications systems so that they could be managed from the airport’s ‘Star’ Control Centre.

A 6-platform rail station serving extensions to the Heathrow Express and London Underground Piccadilly Line station has been constructed below the main terminal building. Firstco’s role has included the design, installation management and commissioning of the Communications and Controls infrastructure. This has comprised 16 different technical areas, 4300 pieces of equipment, over 70km of fibre optic cabling and 80km of copper cabling.

The systems Firstco are responsible for include the train information displays, tunnel ventilation, public address, CCTV, fire and utilities. The PLC network architecture was specified by Firstco’s design team working with BAA and is one of the largest ever commissioned in Europe.

It is BAA’s vision that half of all surface access journeys to Terminal 5 will be made on public transport and Firstco have ensured that all passengers arriving by rail will have an industry leading passenger experience. They can also feel safe in the knowledge that security has been of the highest importance in the design and implementation of the station and tunnel systems at T5.