Find a TenderPlanned procurementPipeline notice
Published 27 May 2026, 11:29 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Depot materials tender - running maintenance

Authority: WM TRAINS LIMITED (Public body)

Framework agreementGoodsOpen procedureAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitable
Planned pipeline value£8,023,224pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Oct 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 4 yrsends 1 Apr 2031 · up to 1 Apr 2035 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Framework for the provision of but not limited to depot consumables such as oils and lubricants, filters, greases, and other materials for rolling stock running maintenance.

Additional information

Where used throughout this notice, the meaning of

Train Operating Companies includes all and any of

those train operating companies who, currently or in

the future, provide services for the carriage of

passengers by railway:

a) under a franchise agreement with the Secretary

of State within the meaning of section 23(3) of the

Railways Act 1993 or

b) under, or secured under, the Secretary of State's

duty in section 30(1) of the Railways Act 1993; or

c) in accordance with legislation which supersedes

or amends the powers referred to in a) and b),

including where such powers are transferred from

the Secretary of State to another body.

A list of some of the current providers of services

for the carriage of passengers by railway under

these provisions can be found at

www.gov.uk/guidance/public-regi… ↗

passenger-contracts.

(www.gov.uk/guidance/public-regi… ↗

passenger-contracts.)

Use and Access

WM Trains is procuring on behalf of the

Participating Authorities (as more particularly

defined below) and will enter into the relevant

framework agreement with the successful suppliers

where such contract is awarded. The Participating

Authorities (as more particularly defined below) are

permitted to use the framework via subsequent call

offs/schedule of works in accordance with section

1(3)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023. However, WM

Trains is responsible for the conduct of the

procurement throughout and all correspondence

and communication from suppliers is to be solely

with WM Trains.

Participating Authorities

In addition to WM Trains, the Participating

Authorities who may call-off under this framework

are:

  • the Train Operating Companies
  • Network Rail Infrastructure Limited
  • Any holders of a passenger licence or a station

licence granted pursuant to section 8 of the

Railways Act 1993 and/or a passenger licence

granted pursuant to regulation 6 of the Railway

(Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations

2005

  • DFT Operator Limited (company number:

07141122) or a successor parent to a Train

Operating Company

Novation or Assignment

The framework agreement may be novated or

assigned by WM Trains to Train Operating

Companies, or to DFT Operator Limited (company

number: 07141122) or any successor parent

company to a Train Operating Company, following a

corporate restructuring or similar circumstance.

CPV: Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
4 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 1 Apr 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 4 yrsSME
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 1 Apr 2031 (4 yrs) · up to 1 Apr 2035 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

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
What this means for your bid
  • “Depot materials tender - running maintenance” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

Competition for Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts (CPV 3460), and who usually turns up

WM TRAINS LIMITED has too little published record in this market to describe on its own. Published market evidence for the same work stands beside whatever it has. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts (CPV 3460) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

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.

Market: division 34 · UK-wide, n=265
67%

Across this market, small firms won 67% of awards with a known supplier size.

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 West Midlands.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Market: division 34 · West Midlands, n=5
20%

Across this market, 20% of winners were registered in the delivery region.

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.

Market: division 34 · UK-wide, n=52
51 days

Half of these awards were announced within 51 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.

Market: division 34 · UK-wide, n=102
27%

Across this market, at least 27% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.

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.

The market384 lots with bid counts · division 34 · UK-wide
15% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid15%
Market: 56 of 384 lots with published bid counts.
2–326%
Market: 99 of 384 lots with published bid counts.
4–622%
Market: 83 of 384 lots with published bid counts.
7+38%
Market: 146 of 384 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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

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 346048 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£8.0m
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 384 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet15% single-bid risk
Past bids on 384 similar lots
1 bid15%
56 of 384 similar past lots received 1 bid (15%).
2–326%
99 of 384 similar past lots received 2–3 (26%).
4–622%
83 of 384 similar past lots received 4–6 (22%).
7+38%
146 of 384 similar past lots received 7+ (38%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

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 earlier-work matches 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
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Utilities
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
27 May 2026, 11:29 BST
Last source update
27 May 2026, 11:29 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-049515
Latest notice
Pipeline notice (UK1)
Classification (CPV)
Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a5bb Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

27 May 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published147 days ago
    27 May 2026, 11:29 BST
  2. Tender notice expected20 days ago
    1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Today
    21 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 161 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Pipeline notice published
    27 May 2026, 11:29 BST
    UK1

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

WM TRAINS LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-COH: 12545250 · GB-PPON: PYZB-7245-XPRH 134 Edmund Street, 2nd Floor, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 2ESContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender