Motherwell Train Station

Motherwell Station underwent a £14.5m redevelopment to transform the building and its facilities, all whilst remaining fully operational. Mott McDonald were the appointed architect to redesign links between the surrounding taxi ranks, bus and train station, reduce congestion in the busy town area and design a complete overhaul to refurbish, improve and extend onto the existing station building. Procladd were responsible for supplying and installing the Sika Sarnafil Single Ply Roof, PFC Corofil Cavity Barrier and CGL Aluminium Wall Cladding works.

The train station remained live and fully operational throughout the length of the project. Due to the constant footfall around the building, the project was split into six phases to minimise the number of areas and trades working at once. Our first challenge was to try and retain as much of the existing roofs as possible, we performed ELD testing to highlight any damage across the roofs and ascertain what needed replaced or what could be salvaged and repaired. We then faced our next challenge as this project had taken place in the midst of winter, so our site team had to clear the snow from the roofs and ensure they had dried out enough to begin the installation. This then led us onto the final phases of the project where new buildings were erected for us to begin the roof installs and tie them into the existing buildings. The majority of the work on these phases were completed on night shifts to allow us to erect MEWPS adjacent to the tracks. We had limited working hours between 2am and 6am, and had to stop and clear the working area when advised, as this particular station has night trains going to London and also frequently carried freight trains.

Motherwell Train Station is situated in a very congested town centre where there were several road closures to accommodate the project. The town heavily relies on public transport as a means of commuting, with the main bus stop and taxi rank operating at the front of the station. Procladd had to manage works, deliveries and labour to overcome these challenges and keep our client satisfied. Deliveries had time, date and vehicle restrictions and required to be booked in advance with at least 48 hours’ notice. No articulated vehicles were permitted to deliver as the roads were simply too narrow and crowded. This required constant communication between site management, procurement and our supply chain to ensure we didn’t cause any issues on site for the main contractor. Weather conditions were a limiting factor on the progression of the project, high winds deemed it unsafe to be working on the roof so close to the busy line, accompanied with torrential rain, and flurries of snow, making it unsuitable conditions for installing an adhered system.