A massive 178-tonne transformer rolls through South London on Sunday

Look out for a huge 178-tonne electricity transformer on a special lorry being driven through south London on Sunday.

The transformer, the first of two that are needed, is being delivered to a substation near Brixton as part of the National Grid’s £1 billion London Power Tunnels 2 project to reinforce the capital’s electricity network. The transformers will be delivered to the Port of Tilbury and then driven by haulage experts Allelys to their destination in south London on specialist vehicles under police escort.

And if you don’t mind the vagaries of road journey times, you could watch out for it as it makes its way across south London on Sunday.

The first transformer’s journey – which is already underway by sea from Rotterdam – will take it from Port of Tilbury clockwise around the M25 to junction 10, north-eastward on the A3 via Wandsworth and Battersea, and onward through Lambeth to Coldharbour Lane.

First transformer planned route details

• Sat 18th Jan:

The transformer will leave Port of Tilbury via Dock Approach Road then head westward on the A13 before joining the M25 clockwise at Mardyke Junction. It will leave at junction 9 for an overnight stop in a secure layby.

• Sun 19th Jan:

Resuming on the M25 clockwise, the transformer will then leave at junction 10, heading north-eastward on the A3, South Circular Road (A2025) and Swandon Way (A217), around Wandsworth Roundabout, onto York Road/Battersea Park Road (A3205), before turning right onto the A3216 (past Queenstown Road station) and regaining the A3 at Clapham Common.

It will dog-leg around Clapham Common North Side (B303/B224), before continuing north-eastward along the A3/Clapham High Street.

It will turn right onto Camberwell New Road (A202) at Kennington Park, then right again onto Denmark Hill, and right again onto Coldharbour Lane (A2217), where the road closure will be in effect, and it will stop overnight.

• Mon 20th Jan:

The transformer will be manoeuvred into Bengeworth Road substation.

A road closure will be in place on Coldharbour Lane, coming into effect at 11:59pm on Saturday 18th January until 6pm on Monday 20th January – during which time the transformer will be manoeuvred into their new Bengeworth Road substation.

If you miss seeing it, their second transformer will arrive during the first weekend of February.

Transformers play a vital role in helping to ensure safe and reliable energy supplies, changing voltage levels up or down to make sure power can be transmitted and distributed safely around the country.

At Bengeworth Road the transformers will be part of a significant UK-first, with the facility set to become the country’s first and only substation free of the electrical insulating gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

The new Bengeworth Road substation connects in the centre of the 32.5km London Power Tunnels 2 route between Wimbledon and Crayford.

Last year National Grid energised the first of the project’s new electricity transmission circuits installed deep underground across the south of the city. Two further supergrid transformers are planned for delivery to the project’s New Cross substation on Old Kent Road in February and over spring.

Joe Senior, project director for National Grid’s London Power Tunnels 2 project, said: “Transformers are crucial high voltage devices needed to ensure reliable electricity supplies, and a huge amount of work goes into delivering them safely with minimal disruption.

“Our teams have been working closely with local and highways authorities to ensure a smooth operation, and we appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the local community whilst the work takes place.”