Official UK procurement notice
Design, Removal, and Re-Livery of Locomotives
Authority: Direct Rail Services Limited (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDesign, removal and re-livery of Locomotives
DRS does not consider itself bound by the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) and associated procurement legislation (together the “UK procurement legislation”) on the basis that, operating commercially, it is not a public authority, nor does it carry out any utility activities. Accordingly, this Procurement is not, and does not purport to be, subject to UK procurement legislation. For the avoidance of doubt, Tenderers are put on notice that the publication of this document and any other document that relates to this Procurement (including the relevant tender notice) is published voluntarily and nothing in this document, or any other document that DRS publishes in relation to this Procurement, should be construed as purporting to give rise to rights or obligations under UK procurement legislation. That said, DRS intends to operate a fair process which broadly aligns with certain key aspects of the competitive flexible procedure under the PA23 and which aligns with the objectives of section 12(1)-(3) of the PA23.
CPV: Repair and maintenance services of locomotives
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£420,000
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 (5)
- TECH02: 15%
- TECH03: 15%
- QA01: 15%
- HSE01: 15%
- CO01/CO02: 40%
Published award criteria (5)
- TECH02: Please describe how you will manage the contract from resource management and capacity planning to deliver the three-year livery programme and its requirements as detailed in Schedule 1 – Specification Document.
- TECH03: Please provide a detailed three-year plan outlining the key phases of mobilisation and re-livery based on the programme schedule included in Schedule 1 – Specification Document.
- QA01: Please describe the quality assurance and control measures you will implement to ensure all livery works meet the standards and specifications outlined in Schedule 1 – Specification Document.
- HSE01: Please describe and evidence your Health, Safety & Enviromental management approach for this contract.
- CO01/CO02: 90% Removal of existing livery, design of replacement livery, production & installation per locomotive 10% Corrosion and bodywork management cost of Operative
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- 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
- 11 Nov 2025, 14:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Mar 2026, 14:51 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 28 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
C29087- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-000943- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05dec4Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 6 Feb 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 28 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
11 Nov 2025 → 25 Mar 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published347 days ago11 Nov 2025, 14:21 GMT
- Market engagement337 days ago20 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
RFI for livery issued on Atamis
- Next notice expected326 days ago1 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published290 days ago7 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMT
- Clarification questions by269 days ago28 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission deadline260 days ago6 Feb 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by237 days ago28 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts236 days ago2 Mar 2026
- Assessment summaries sent225 days ago13 Mar 2026
- Latest notice published225 days ago13 Mar 2026, 14:51 GMT
- Standstill ends212 days ago25 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published11 Nov 2025, 14:21 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 Nov 2025, 14:33 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published7 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £420,0007 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMTwas £0
- Status changed to active7 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMT
- Procurement method changed7 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMT
- Deadline published: 6 Feb 2026, 15:00 GMT7 Jan 2026, 10:31 GMT
- Contract award notice published13 Mar 2026, 14:51 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete13 Mar 2026, 14:51 GMT
- Contract signature expected1 Apr 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Published amendments (1)
Modifying CPD code and adding additional information about DRS.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-11: 1 release · 11 Nov 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AST Signs Ltd1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2030 | £450,000 | 9 Mar 2026standstill to 25 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- AST Signs LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender