Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 13 Oct 2026, 11:21 BST

Official UK procurement notice

1074279646 T1416 - Feasibility and impact of a full description of train path

Authority: Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB) (Public body)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Research & Development (R&D) (73) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Published estimate£120,000≈ £144k / year · £144,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 10 Nov 202612:00 GMT · 27d 10h left
Clarification cut-off 27 Oct 202612:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 10 moends 6 Oct 2027 · starts 7 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

RSSB is seeking to appoint a supplier to undertake research into the feasibility and potential impact of developing a more detailed description of a train’s full path than is currently possible through the existing TIPLOC-based timetable. The research will consider the information, data and technical requirements needed, demonstrate how a more granular path description could work alongside existing railway systems, and explore the potential benefits, risks and implementation considerations for the GB rail industry.

For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:

rssb.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London… ↗

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:

rssb.delta-esourcing.com/respond/8D5Z4669FC ↗

CPV: Research services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1 10 moSMEPublished value£120,000
Contract period: 7 Dec 2026 – 6 Oct 2027 (10 mo)Value: £120,000 exc. VAT · £144,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£288,197/yr≈ 2× annual value

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 85%Price: 15%
Published sub-criteria (4)
  • W1 Understanding and methodology: 40%
  • W2 Expertise and planning: 30%
  • W3 Risks, opportunities, and engagement: 15%
  • W4 Cost of project: 15%
Published award criteria (4)
  • W1 Understanding and methodology
  • W2 Expertise and planning
  • W3 Risks, opportunities, and engagement
  • W4 Cost of project

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 15 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £288,197 (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) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerRail Safety Standards Board (RSSB) · division 73
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 9 known-size awards · market: CPV 7311 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=33
0%36%

No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no winner locations published · market: CPV 7311 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=39
—36%

No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in Greater London.

How long to a decision?
i

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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 7 decided notices · market: CPV 7311 · UK-wide, n=40
21 days32 days

Half of these awards were announced within 21 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 12 procurements with awards; rival share unknown · market: CPV 7311 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=41
—41%

Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer8 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 73
0% had one bid
The market8 lots with bid counts · CPV 7311 · Greater London (authority’s region)
13% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0% / 13%
Buyer: 0 of 8 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
2–338% / 0%
Buyer: 3 of 8 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
4–650% / 38%
Buyer: 4 of 8 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
7+13% / 50%
Buyer: 1 of 8 lots with published bid counts. Market: 4 of 8 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer9 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 73
11% below estimate
The market9 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7311 · Greater London (authority’s region)
56% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate11% / 56%
Buyer: 1 of 9 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 5 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%89% / 33%
Buyer: 8 of 9 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 3 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0% / 11%
Buyer: 0 of 9 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 1 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 731110 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£120k
Expected competition
i

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.

—No model forecast yet9% single-bid risk
Past bids on 32 similar lots
1 bid9%
3 of 32 similar past lots received 1 bid (9%).
2–319%
6 of 32 similar past lots received 2–3 (19%).
4–638%
12 of 32 similar past lots received 4–6 (38%).
7+34%
11 of 32 similar past lots received 7+ (34%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 5.5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

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.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £120k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

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.

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
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
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, 11:21 BST
Last source update
13 Oct 2026, 11:21 BST
Authority reference
1074279646
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096458
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Research services
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07865b Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via Delta eSourcing
Submission portal named on this notice: Delta eSourcing · Who buys & how to bid on Delta
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free Select account; no DUNS asked at signup
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
10 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
27 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Published estimate £120,000 excludes VAT (£144,000 including VAT).

Timeline

13 Oct 2026 → 7 Dec 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Tender notice published1 day ago
    13 Oct 2026, 11:21 BST
  2. Today
    14 Oct 2026
  3. Clarification questions byin 13 days
    27 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Submission deadlinein 27 days
    10 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 54 days
    7 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    13 Oct 2026, 11:21 BST
    UK4

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

RSSB

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-PPON: PVGN-9767-BLPT 25 Fenchurch Avenue, London, London, London, EC3M 5ADContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender