February News!

2021 continues to race along with this snowy February bringing little change to the current situation but a lot of promise for the rest of the year to come with the vaccine roll out making headway and ‘roadmaps’ out of lockdown being revealed in the coming weeks.  We can only hope that Spring will usher in some relief from the current restrictions and bring normality that one step closer.  In the meantime, however, SVM continue to provide the best service we can though the miracles of IT and remain hard at work for all of our clients. 

There has been no shortage of projects through the winter and February is no exception with the next stage of rail works being instructed at one of the many projects in Inverness Depot; some monitoring works being carried out at Wemyss Bay; and notification of DB design works in the Cathcart area.  Further stations are requiring ‘Access for All’ design works in Croy, Port Glasgow and Johnston while some platform extension design has been requested in Linlithgow.  Further afield we are also awaiting the green flag for new works in Horsham, Reading and South Shields.  

Projects that remain with us into Spring are headed up by various station and Depot projects in the Inverness area including HV/LV design, Motorail sidings and carriage stabling works; railway yard lighting in Dundee; GRIP 5-8 design in the Reston area; design for Portobello Junction; and a scheme on the Ferrybridge to Goole line, which has gained momentum this month.  Also this month, from North to South, we remain involved in the project construction phase at Aberdeen Station plus a separate project in the area concerning lighting gantries; design works covering a Depot and rail sidings in the Fort William area; and design for the station canopies in Arbroath, which are now almost complete.  Across the Central belt we continue to provide design advice for railway works in the Law and Newton areas; works around the retail spaces in Glasgow Central Station and signalling feeders in the North of the city; and some departure roads and fuel dispensing works at Corkerhill Depot.  The Edinburgh Recontrol scheme is ongoing in February as are heating and ventilation works at Edinburgh Waverley station; signalling, UPS design and rewiring in the Motherwell area; ongoing design at Ayr Station; and design works for Carstairs MDU.  Crossing the border, which we hope to be able to do again soon, we continue to make good progress on a 650V feeders renewal scheme in Middlesbrough and Whitehouse; mechanical design in the Hambleton area; and our large scale scheme at Goole Swing Bridge.  Also ongoing are the next phase of  station design works in the Liverpool area; shore supplies design in Crewe; large scale signalling works on the Rugeley to Colwich line; and our long running project at a Birmingham Station.  In the commercial sector this month we are happy to remain involved with a retail park in Wishaw, a residential development in Edinburgh and works at Alloa leisure centre.  We continue to provide design support for a large, Victorian residential property in Castle Douglas; elements of the Clyde Gateway regeneration scheme; and Glasgow’s famous Bell’s Bridge. 

Despite all the tribulations of the current climate, SVM are still functioning, still busy and still committed to delivering the best service possible.  We hope that the next few months lead to some improvements and we look forward to hopefully seeing our clients and collaborators in person again sometime in the not too distant future.