Network Rail and steel fabrication company M&S are working together to deliver improved accessibility at three stations in Scotland.

Network Rail engineers visited the company’s steelworks in Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, to see how work is progressing to make steel for the improvements at Anniesland in Glasgow, Uddingston in South Lanarkshire, and Dumfries, near the Solway Firth.

They saw the new structure that will replace the footbridge recently removed from Dumfries station, which was set up in the steelworks yard, and is due to be installed in the coming weeks.

M&S Engineering, which was established in 1992, is also working on the steel components for accessibility work at Anniesland and Uddingston stations.

It is a family-run business, and began working with Network Rail in 2012 on the project to improve accessibility at Perth station.

The work has received funds from the UK government’s Access for All programme, which aims to make train travel more inclusive for passengers by creating step-free access.

The programme, which launched in 2006, has funded improvements at twenty-eight of Scotland’s 359 stations.

“The Access for All projects we are delivering aim to make stations more easily accessible for those with reduced mobility, prams and luggage.

“In Scotland, Access for All schemes were completed at Croy and Johnstone stations in 2023, and Port Glasgow in February 2024. The schemes at Dumfries, Anniesland and Uddingston are due to be all finished by autumn 2024.”

Rod Hendry, site construction manager, Network Rail

“We have [steel for] Uddingston painted in the workshop. We have the Dumfries footbridge and we have the Anniesland ramps and lift shafts.

“Having multiple projects on at the one time gives our guys a great deal of focus and we benefit from the continuity. To be able to cope with all three at once, programming is key. We ask our guys to step up, sometimes it is working extra hours but to be fair they have not let us down. They have all really done their bit.”

“What makes working on Access for All different to other projects we do is that you get a lot more interaction with the public. In terms of installation from our side, Access for All changes the landscape of the station overnight.

“These structures provide really good work for our guys and, for Dumfries station in particular, it is really interesting because it is local. The guys will be using that station in the near future, knowing that they have played their part in the bridge being made.”

Gary Jamieson, contracts manager, M&S