Philips lights up Canada's railway tunnel

The almost 160-year-old Brockville Railway Tunnel in Brockville, Canada, has been illuminated with Philips LED lights.

More than 700 Philips ColorGraze MX4 Powercore RGBW fixtures are used for the 525-metre tunnel, constituting over 2800 individually controllable nodes, each one capable of providing a different colour of light. Over 457 metres of cable was used. The lighting installation was completed in August 2017.

The lighting inside the tunnel will run a dynamic ‘Philips Light Show’ 365 days a year, drawing in residents and tourists alike. Residents are also able to request custom light shows for events held on the waterfront. It will become a central hub to host community events and festivals year round, further cementing it as one of the iconic, must-see landmarks in the Thousand Islands region in Canada.

Originally constructed in the late 1850s, the Brockville Rail Tunnel was the first of its kind in Canada. Located underneath the downtown area of Brockville, Ontario, the Railway Tunnel will now act as a path from the city’s beautiful waterfront to the scenic Brock Trail recreational pathway.

Grazing fixtures were specifically chosen for the inside of the railway in order to showcase the unique architectural and geological components of this pre-Confederate tunnel. “The Brockville Tunnel is a remarkable historical landmark and we had a vision to transform it into a true international attraction. With the Philips architectural LED lighting, we have created something wonderful for the community and visitors,” said David LeSueur, City of Brockville Councillor and Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee Chair.

Our design team wanted to turn what had become an overlooked part of the City of Brockville into a safe, energetic and vibrant attraction not only for the local community but also to change the historic tunnel into a tourist attraction on the world stage, said David Bouwers M.E, Ford Electric Co. Ltd, lead lighting and infrastructure design team for the Brockville Tunnel project.