Awarded contract

Provision of Service Quality Regime (SQR) Inspection Services

Details

Value
£1,344,073
Duration
3 years
Topic
Technical inspection and testing services
Published
2 June 2026

Tender description

The Service Quality Regime (SQR) was set up by the Department for Transport (DfT) to incentivise Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to ensure customer experience standards across the railway network are maintained and improved. The regime is defined in the National Rail Contracts (NRCs) that exist between TOCs and the DfT, including XC's NRC. The NRC sets out the obligations that TOCs have to deliver to ensure compliance with the Contract, and the repercussions if they are not. XC's SQR has been in place since late 2021 and has seen a few changes since it first started. XC is also proud to have helped the DfT trial changes to SQR during this time to pave the way for other TOCs following in the future. This Procurement was undertaken by XC on behalf of itself, and a successor operator of the XC. The key elements and strategic objectives of the Project were to procure a service which met the following requirements: - Train Service Regime (TSR) inspections by inspectors; - Customer Service Regime (CSR) inspections by mystery shoppers; - Accessible Customer Service Regime (ACSR) inspections by mystery shoppers with additional accessible needs; - Provision of mobile devices to the supplier inspectors and mystery shoppers for running inspection forms; and - Inspection data quality assurance. The awarded supplier will provide the following services: - Project mobilisation and implementation of services - Total of 290 inspections per railway period across the duration of the contract - Account management services ## Contract award

Timeline

  1. Completed: Award published2 June 2026
    Current notice
  2. Completed: Award date2 June 2026
  3. Next: Contract expiry date24 August 2029in 3 years

About the buyer

XC Trains Limited trades as CrossCountry and runs inter-city rail services across England, Scotland and Wales under a contract with the Department for Transport. Arriva UK Trains owns the business. The company is registered in England, headquartered at Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland. A Purchasing Department handles new supplier enquiries before any tender goes out. Contracts are advertised through the Find a Tender service alongside the company's own supplying pages. Prospective suppliers register interest online through the supplying-us pages ahead of a formal tender process. CrossCountry favours suppliers committed to continuous improvement and long-term partnership.

£434bn was the total UK public sector procurement spend in FY 2025/26.

Over the past 5 years, most of XC Trains Limited's contract awards have been in IT services, business services and food and drink.

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