Official UK procurement notice
Railhead Cleaning Technology Trial
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe supplier will deliver a trial of a laser solution, to support the Seasonal team with their future proofing of the fleet, focusing on eliminating the need of using water to clean the railhead, by using laser technology.
The trial will consist of 2 phases. 1 being off track and the other on a live rail environments within the UK at the desired speed of 60mph.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 3 Aug 2026, 19:08 BST
- Last source update
- 1 Oct 2026, 11:02 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-092726- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06da77Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Prototypes Development; Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
The requirement for laser-based railhead treatment is highly specialised and LPS are the only provider than has this laser treatment in full use across international rail industries and can deliver the laser treatment at the required speed that NR requires.
Furthermore, the maturity of LPS’s technology and its prior deployment history differentiate it from emerging or unproven alternatives. Existing materials show that LPS has progressed from pilot phases to live network trials and longer-term operational contracts, demonstrating a level of technical readiness and operational assurance not currently matched by other suppliers.
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Aug 2026- Transparency notice published3 Aug 2026, 19:08 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published21 Sept 2026, 11:10 BSTUK6
- Contract details notice published1 Oct 2026, 11:02 BSTUK7
- Contract signature expected14 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Tribology B.V.SMEecm_54089 Railhead Cleaning Technology Trial19 Oct 2026 – 20 Oct 2028 | £700,000 | 4 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
ecm_54089 Railhead Cleaning Technology Trial · Laser Tribology B.V.SME
- Signed
- 1 Oct 2026
- Value
- £700,000
- Period
- 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2028
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Laser Tribology B.V.Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender