Official UK procurement notice
1073434028 T1427 Strategy for Harmonising Automatic Current Limitation Across Electric Rolling Stock in GB
Authority: Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB) (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis research seeks to develop the evidence base required to inform the transition towards harmonised ACL characteristics across rolling stock operating on the GB network. It will confirm and refine the previously proposed target state for ACL harmonisation (that is BS EN 50388-1:2022 without UKSNC (Umin2 = 17.5 kV)), fully accounting for technical feasibility and economic viability, and develop a detailed pathway from current to target state for existing and future rolling stock. Specifically, the research will address the following objectives:
1.Confirm and detail the target state for ACL harmonisation and the rationale for its adoption: this includes accounting for wider system consequences and trade-offs, quantified associated benefits, costs and risks.
2.Define a transition pathway from current to target state: this includes specifying the ACL changes that are technically achievable and economically justified for existing rolling stock, the ACL requirements for future rolling stock, the role and deployment of dual trains, and the phasing required to reach the target state.
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CPV: Research services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£180,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (4)
- W1 Understanding and methodology (Max 8 pages PDF; Min 11 font size): 30%
- W2 Expertise and planning (Max 4 pages PDF, excluding CVs; Min 11 font size, excluding CVs): 30%
- W3 Risks, opportunities, and engagement: 20%
- W4 Cost of project: 20%
Published award criteria (4)
- W1 Understanding and methodology (Max 8 pages PDF; Min 11 font size)
- W2 Expertise and planning (Max 4 pages PDF, excluding CVs; Min 11 font size, excluding CVs)
- W3 Risks, opportunities, and engagement
- W4 Cost of project
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £360,000 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB) buys Research services (CPV 7311), and who usually turns up
Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB)’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Research services (CPV 7311) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
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How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in Greater London.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 21 days of the bid deadline.
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How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
How many bids did past lots attract?
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How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0% / 13%
2–338% / 0%
4–650% / 38%
7+13% / 50%
How did awards compare with estimates?
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Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate11% / 56%
Within ±2%89% / 33%
Above estimate0% / 11%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
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What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7311Published estimate£180k
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 32 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid9%
2–319%
4–638%
7+34%
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Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
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Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
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Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
No supplier with a record in this category fits this lot yet.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the match score are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Oct 2026, 13:28 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Oct 2026, 13:28 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Nov 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096546- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078687Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Delta eSourcing- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
13 Oct 2026 → 14 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published1 day ago13 Oct 2026, 13:28 BST
- Today14 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 16 days30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 33 days16 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 48 days30 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 61 days14 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published13 Oct 2026, 13:28 BSTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender