Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 18 Jun 2026, 15:51 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Eastern Region Permanent Way Framework

Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)

Framework agreementWorksAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£48,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 14 Sept 2026from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 3 yrsends 31 Oct 2030 · up to 31 Oct 2033 with extensions · starts 1 Nov 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Network Rail is issuing this preliminary market engagement notice to better understand the current capabilities of the supply market for Permanent Way works across the Eastern routes. The framework will cover works associated with switches and crossings, off-track (level crossings, wheel timbers, cess paths, track drainage), plain line track and any follow up works associated with track.

Please note, the final structure of the framework is yet to be confirmed, however, it is likely to be split into 2 separate frameworks, one for Eastern Region covering the North & East, East Coast and East Midlands Routes, and the other solely for the Anglia Route. The final value is still to be confirmed, and is dependent on tender structure. The value provided below is an estimate of spend across the North & East, East Coast and East Midlands Routes (Not including Anglia) within the intended 6 year (including extensions) contract term. The orders traditionally placed under this framework are low value (under 100k).

Specific details of the RISQS codes that must be held at contract award can be found by following the link in the 'engagement process description' section.

CPV: Ballast construction works · Construction work for railways and cable transport systems · Demolition of tracks · Track construction works

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
3 yrs · up to 6 yrs from 1 Nov 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Nov 2027 – 31 Oct 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Oct 2033 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE 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
  • “Eastern Region Permanent Way Framework” 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

How NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED buys Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523), and who usually turns up

NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523) →

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.

Buyer: 3 of 13 known-size awards · market: CPV 4523 · UK-wide, n=142
23%56%

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: 1 of 2 known-location awards · market: CPV 4523 · Greater London (authority’s region), n=6
1 of 20%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered 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: 20 decided notices · market: CPV 4523 · UK-wide, n=38
156 days74 days

Half of these awards were announced within 156 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 2 of 7 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4523 · UK-wide, n=49
29%12%

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 buyer11 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 45
9% had one bid
The market186 lots with bid counts · CPV 4523 · UK-wide
4% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid9% / 4%
Buyer: 1 of 11 lots with published bid counts. Market: 7 of 186 lots with published bid counts.
2–336% / 20%
Buyer: 4 of 11 lots with published bid counts. Market: 38 of 186 lots with published bid counts.
4–627% / 38%
Buyer: 3 of 11 lots with published bid counts. Market: 71 of 186 lots with published bid counts.
7+27% / 38%
Buyer: 3 of 11 lots with published bid counts. Market: 70 of 186 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 452336 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£48m
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 152 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet1% single-bid risk
Past bids on 152 similar lots
1 bid1%
1 of 152 similar past lots received 1 bid (1%).
2–310%
15 of 152 similar past lots received 2–3 (10%).
4–616%
24 of 152 similar past lots received 4–6 (16%).
7+74%
112 of 152 similar past lots received 7+ (74%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 16 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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Pro Rail Services LtdEarlier contractEastern Region Reactive Jetting Frameworknotice published Oct 2025Eastern Region Reactive Jetting Framework - Anglia—Matched as the earlier contract
SPH Plant LimitedEarlier contractEastern Region Reactive Jetting Frameworknotice published Oct 2025Eastern Region Reactive Jetting Framework - Anglia—Matched as the earlier contract
Super-Rod (Stoke-on-Trent) LimitedEarlier contractEastern Region Reactive Jetting Frameworknotice published Oct 2025Eastern Region Reactive Jetting Framework - Anglia—Matched as the earlier contract
QTS Group LtdEarlier contractEastern Region Reactive Jetting Frameworknotice published Oct 2025Eastern Region Reactive Jetting Framework - Anglia—Matched as the earlier contract

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.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

46% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (46% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Eastern Region Reactive Jetting Framework, winner not published; no contract end date published.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Works
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
18 Jun 2026, 15:51 BST
Last source update
18 Jun 2026, 15:51 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-057702
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Ballast construction worksConstruction work for railways and cable transport systemsDemolition of tracksTrack construction works
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b861 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

18 Jun 2026 → 1 Nov 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published124 days ago
    18 Jun 2026, 15:51 BST
  2. Market engagement109 days ago
    3 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST

    Network Rail is using this market engagement to better understand the capability and assess the level of interest to deliver the current proposed approach. This feedback will help inform Network Rail how best to deliver this potential procurement event.

    For the sake of clarity, this is not a call to competition and no contract(s) will be awarded to any supplier as a result of participating in this exercise.

    The Market Engagement for the 'Permanent Way’ will be conducted through the completion of a questionnaire. This questionnaire deadline is 03/07/2026.

    Responding to this Notice is an opportunity to engage, share relevant information and provide feedback.

    Should you wish to respond to this Notice please follow the instructions below:

    1. Accessing the documents:

    a. Follow the link: networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html ↗

    b. From the welcome screen, access the “Current Opportunities” link and select “Eastern Region Permanent Way Framework”. Login is not required.

    c. The released documents will be at the bottom of the page in the attachments section.

    1. Once you have reviewed all the documents, please complete the questionnaire via the link provided within the attachments. Please ensure you follow these instructions carefully to submit your information correctly.
    2. Any feedback, questions or clarifications in respect of this notice, should only be addressed to [email protected]

    Please note that any content received via response to this Notice will be used purely for information purposes only and will not be deemed as forming part of any proposed bid now, or any potential future tender. This Notice does not constitute a call for competition to procure any services, supplies or works mentioned in this Notice and Network Rail will not accept any proposals offered in response to this Notice. Network Rail is not liable for any costs, fees, or expenses incurred by any party in replying to or attending any Notice event.

  3. Tender notice expected36 days ago
    14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
  4. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  5. Contract startsin 376 days
    1 Nov 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    18 Jun 2026, 15:51 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 name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure