Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 24 Jun 2026, 14:07 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Eastern Region Examination System Application

Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)

ServicesAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitable
Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: UK
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 6 yrs 1 moends 31 May 2033 · up to 30 Apr 2036 with extensions · starts 1 May 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This procurement will be undertaken as an open market exercise using the Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), with the objective of procuring an Examinations System Application comprising licences, support, and minor configurations.

Nationally, Network Rail has been developing and releasing a modular engineering asset management system called the Network Enterprise Structures and Tunnels system (NEST). In November 2024 the NEST Examinations module went live. The architecture of NEST means it uses modern means of data transfer and security.

Eastern Structures are seeking an examination system that enables various types of examinations and utilises the functionality that NEST offers. The system will be crucial in maintaining the Region’s examinations compliance position and our regulatory commitments with the Office of Rail and Road.

  • Scope: The ITT commercial envelope will include a breakdown of each of the following to form a total cost of ownership:

o Licencing – Fixed costs based on defined parameters/user metrics (120 users). Non committed pricing requested for an increase in users of 20 volume increments, but not evaluated.

o Support – Fixed costs based on defined parameters/user metrics (120 users). Non committed pricing requested for an increase in users of 20 volume increments, but not evaluated.

o Configuration: Fixed costs aligned to defined milestones

o User Volume Increases – defined cost for an increase in users, in increments of 20. Not accounted for in the commercial evaluation.

The proposed approach is a single-supplier award with a total contract duration of up to 8 years (5+1+1+1)

CPV: Information technology services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 6 yrs 1 moSME
Contract period: 1 May 2027 – 31 May 2033 (6 yrs 1 mo) · up to 30 Apr 2036 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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

How NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED buys Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222), and who usually turns up

NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED’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: Systems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerNETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED · division 72
The marketSystems and technical consultancy services (CPV 7222) · Greater London (authority’s region)
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: 2 of 11 known-size awards · market: CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=101
18%46%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

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: 0 of 1 known-location awards · market: CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=121
0 of 150%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside 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: 19 decided notices · market: CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=12
159 days68 days

Half of these awards were announced within 159 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.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 18 of 20 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=143
90%60%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

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 buyer16 lots with bid counts · all categories
13% had one bid
The market15 lots with bid counts · CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region)
0% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid13% / 0%
Buyer: 2 of 16 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
2–350% / 47%
Buyer: 8 of 16 lots with published bid counts. Market: 7 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
4–638% / 40%
Buyer: 6 of 16 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 13%
Buyer: 0 of 16 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 15 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 buyer6 lots with estimate and award · all categories
83% below estimate
The market12 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7222 · Greater London (authority’s region)
33% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate83% / 33%
Buyer: 5 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 4 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%0% / 50%
Buyer: 0 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 6 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate17% / 17%
Buyer: 1 of 6 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 2 of 12 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 722273 monthsSME suitableEstimate not published
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 15 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet0% single-bid risk
Past bids on 15 similar lots
1 bid0%
0 of 15 similar past lots received 1 bid (0%).
2–347%
7 of 15 similar past lots received 2–3 (47%).
4–640%
6 of 15 similar past lots received 4–6 (40%).
7+13%
2 of 15 similar past lots received 7+ (13%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4 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.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

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
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Utilities
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
24 Jun 2026, 14:07 BST
Last source update
24 Jun 2026, 14:07 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-059451
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Information technology services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bc3e Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

24 Jun 2026 → 1 May 2027 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published118 days ago
    24 Jun 2026, 14:07 BST
  2. Market engagement74 days ago
    6 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST

    Should you wish to respond to this PME please complete the attached document titled “Eastern Region Examination System Application – MoSCoW functional/non-function requirements” document, this can be accessed via the link and instructions below.

    1. Follow the link - networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html ↗
    2. From the welcome screen, access the “View Current Opportunities” link and select “Eastern Region Examination System Application – Pre Market Engagement".
    3. Click on the attachment – “Eastern Region Examination System Application – MoSCoW functional/non-function requirements” document.
  3. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 193 days
    1 May 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    24 Jun 2026, 14:07 BST
    UK2

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

NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PNZN-9524-VCQJ Waterloo General Office, London, London, SE1 8SWContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure