Stale Pre-tender

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice RDF

Details

Buyer: Network Rail
Value: £130,000,000
Topic: Railway maintenance or service vehicles, and railway freight wagons
Published: 30 July 2026
Submission: 27 August 2026
Source: uk:find_a_tender

Tender description

Network Rail's existing fleet of Rail Delivery Trains (RDTs) and Long-Welded Rail Trains (LWRTs) is approaching the point at which replacement options must be considered. Network Rail currently anticipates a future requirement for: • A fleet of approximately 8-11 trains. • A locomotive-hauled solution capable of both rail delivery and rail recovery activities. • A solution capable of carrying a minimum of 24 rails per train. • Remote operation of rail handling equipment to minimise manual intervention and improve operational safety. Engagement undertaken with the market to date has identified several opportunities for consideration as part of the sourcing strategy and technical requirements, including separate procurement of wagons and material handling equipment (MHE), and the development of a modular design making use of intermodal wagons. Network Rail requires market feedback to determine whether these opportunities should be established as requirements within the sourcing activity. Market feedback is therefore sought to help Network Rail understand the implications of adopting these requirements, including: • Impact on market appetite • Impact on design and delivery risks and timescales

Timeline

Completed: Pre-tender published30 July 2026
Current notice

About the buyer

Network Rail runs a safe, efficient railway, and buys as a central public body split between a national Route Services team and its regional routes. Suppliers must register on BravoNR, Network Rail's procurement portal, before bidding for work. Every prospective supplier also registers on Find a Tender, the Cabinet Office's digital platform. Safety-critical work needs audited status on RISQS, the rail industry's supplier qualification scheme, before Network Rail contracts directly. A contract register lists every national contract and framework, with a contact for each. Network Rail's latest spend reporting covers Control Period 7, the 2024-25 financial year.

Procurement spend from central entities makes up 66% of overall UK public spend.

Over the past 5 years, most of Network Rail's contract awards have been in IT services, architectural and engineering services and construction work.

Relevant CPV codes

34621000 · Railway maintenance or service vehicles, and railway freight wagons

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@network-rail.gov