September News!

September has been another busy month at SVM as we make excellent headway into the shortening days with both established projects and new works that will keep us on our toes right through Autumn. 

We are now so familiar with Scotland’s Rail network that many new projects take us back to familiar territory for new or further works.  This month we are following up GRIP 4 AFA works at Balgray station with the GRIP 5 stage; begun to undertake the design stage of remedial works at Scotstounhill and Airdrie Stations; become involved in new works at Busby Station; and returned to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central for various aspects of ventilation design.  Design for a power store has taken us to the Motherwell area and on the outskirts of Edinburgh there are works for an overbridge at a Railway location.  Meanwhile, along the coast, there are works in Irvine and Ayr for MDU and station design respectively. 

September’s most prominent existing projects are the second group of Accelerated Network sites; wheel lathe design in Clacton; mechanical design at Motherwell MDU; works at Shields Depot; and retail refurbishment at Caledonia Chambers.  Works across the rest of the country are thriving, starting in the North with Inverness panel scope design, pit lighting and train crew accommodation, surveys on the Aberdeen to Central Belt route; water pipe diversion works in Dundee; Aldclune Level Crossing; and design for Blair Atholl to Dalwhinnie.  Getting closer to home there has been a lot of progress with large scale projects covering East Kilbride electrification works; GRIP 4 and 5 design works at Levenmouth and Portobello; LEV design for engineering; CET/water facilities at multiple sites; and design for vending machines at various ScotRail locations.  The main Edinburgh and Glasgow Stations are productive this month with Waverley hosting projects covering concourse lighting, calorifier design; digital advertising boards; distribution design and the signalling centre.  Across the country, Glasgow Central is home to electrical surveys, water tank works and design for junction lighting; Queen Street ticket office works are ongoing; and we’ve also forged ahead with points heating works at Westerton Station; design for D&P signal boxes; CET works at Craigentinny Depot; a new drying room on a Glasgow railway site; and containment works at Singer.  Also still ongoing in September are Yoker Bridge deck; Clydebank remedials; and Depot works covering feeder protection upgrades; design for fuel control panels; heating, air-con and boiler replacement works at Motherwell; and DPS works at Broomloan.  There is also plenty going on towards the borders with works for Ayr Station including the booking office; platform water heating and re-energisation; Troon station which is approaching the end of its construction phase; water tank design at Dumfries; design at Prestwick Railway Station; and Kirkconnel life extension works.  England is also a hot-bed of activity this month with Transpennine Express works in Newcastle, Hull and York; replacement of copper medium telecomms to fibre on Railway SCADA sites; and various works at multiple depots including Tysley, Eastcroft and Etches Park covering road jacking, 10 car stabling, engine drop and depot protection services.  Goole swing bridge works are ongoing, as are tunnel works in West Yorkshire; CET design in Carmarthen; and shore supplies in Scarborough; while reactive assistance for the Rugeley to Colwich and Welwyn to Hitchin routes, and Birmingham and Euston Stations continues.  Works in Selhurst for both an REB and wheel lathe are ongoing; and we continue to edge closer to the completion of works for the Ferrybridge to Goole route; and Bangor to Colwyn Bay. 

We’ve been busy in the commercial sector this month with a waste transfer facility in Helensburgh and the beginning of extensive works associated with the expansion of Stranraer marina.  We continue to provide design advice for Building Control acceptance for a commercial unit in Dumfries, and design support for works at an ophthalmic day theatre in Cambridge.   

The social season will soon be upon us and SVM are already beginning to think about our annual tables at the IRSE dinner, which always proves to be an excellent evening.  With the absence of the IET dinner this year we are also looking into other alternatives as we love to be as in time as possible with the industry’s exciting Scottish pulse.