Cambridge South Station

BSB Engineering Services supplied an addressable fire damper control package for Cambridge South Station, the new railway station serving the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The station opened to passengers on Sunday 28 June 2026 and provides a direct rail connection for patients, staff, visitors, students and researchers travelling to one of the UK’s major healthcare and biomedical research locations.

The completed station includes four platforms, step-free access, passenger facilities, waiting areas and capacity for up to 1,000 cycle parking spaces.

The project was delivered for Network Rail, as part of the construction of a new two-storey, four-platform station on the West Anglia Main Line, adjacent to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The Challenge

Railway stations place practical demands on building services and fire safety systems. Passenger areas, back-of-house spaces, plant rooms and escape routes all need to be coordinated with the wider fire strategy, while allowing the completed system to be tested, handed over and maintained properly.

For Cambridge South Station, the fire damper control package was required to control and monitor 37 motorised fire dampers within the station’s ventilation system.

This required clear coordination between the M&E contractor, the local damper modules, actuator connections and the addressable control panels.

In a station environment, reliable monitoring is particularly important. Fire dampers help support compartmentation where ductwork passes through fire-rated walls, floors or ceilings. The control system also needs to give the project team a clear way to test, monitor and confirm damper status during commissioning and future maintenance.

The Solution

The addressable damper control package was supplied in support of the wider M&E installation as part of the main station works.

BSB supplied an addressable fire damper control package comprising ACP50 Addressable Damper Control Panels, ADM Addressable Damper Modules and motorised fire dampers.

The ACP Series Addressable Damper Control System is designed to offer dedicated zone control across multiple areas of the site.  

The system can be programmed to suit project-specific cause and effect requirements, supporting both straightforward and more complex fire safety applications.

Each ADM module is installed locally to the damper actuator and communicates individual actuator status back to the ACP control panel via the data network. This gives the project team a practical way to identify each connected damper and check its status from the panel.

For Cambridge South Station, the use of three ACP50 panels allowed the damper control system to be arranged around the requirements of the station. With 37 dampers connected through local addressable modules, the M&E team had a clear control and monitoring structure to support commissioning, testing and future servicing.

The Result

The completed package supports the station’s fire safety and ventilation strategy with an addressable damper control system designed for clear monitoring, testing and handover.

The ACP50 panels and ADM modules provided a practical route for connecting the dampers into a central control system. This helped give the project team visibility of damper status across the installation and supported a more organised commissioning process.

The Cambridge South Station project demonstrates how addressable damper control systems can support coordinated commissioning, ongoing monitoring and future maintenance within complex infrastructure projects. By providing clear visibility of damper status across the installation, the system formed an integral part of the station’s fire safety strategy and successful project delivery.