Site Progress at West Fraser’s Inverness Rail Siding

BT Bell is pleased to share the latest rail siding construction progress on site at West Fraser’s oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing facility near Inverness.

Specifically, works are advancing rapidly across the rail formation and associated infrastructure. In addition, our engineering team continues to provide on-site technical support. Furthermore, we maintain active design oversight as earthworks and structural foundation activities reach key milestones.

Current On-Site Milestones

Throughout the current phase, our team made significant progress on the major earthworks required for the two 560-metre-long rail sidings. Crucially, preparing a uniform, high-capacity formation across variable ground conditions is essential. Therefore, this ensures long-term track stability under heavy freight loads.

Recently, progress on site includes several key achievements:

Subgrade Preparation: Completing main site excavations and bulk earthworks. Additionally, we completed subgrade stabilization across the siding corridor.
Drainage Network: Installing heavy-duty surface water drainage. Also, we added attenuation systems to manage run-off across the rail formation.
Hardstanding & Access: Progressing ground preparation for the adjacent container handling area. Simultaneously, we advanced work on the main freight access roads.
Collaboration and Quality Assurance

Working on an active manufacturing site requires constant coordination. Because of this, BT Bell’s engineers work closely alongside West Fraser, main contractors, and Network Rail representatives. As a result, we ensure all works align with exact structural standards and operational safety requirements.

Ultimately, seeing this strategic project take shape highlights the impact of coordinated civil engineering. Once fully operational, these new sidings will transition significant material transport from road to rail. Consequently, the facility will remove thousands of HGV journeys each year. In conclusion, this dramatically lowers carbon emissions across the region.

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