Official UK procurement notice
Enhanced Movement Limiting Devices for Plant to Improve Works Efficiency in Any Line Open Conditions - Network Rail
Authority: CONNECTED PLACES CATAPULT (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNetwork Rail is undertaking this preliminary market engagement to explore solutions for enhanced movement limiting devices for rail plant to deliver a Dynamic Virtual Wall (DVW) capability for engineering works. Connected Places Catapult (CPC ) is acting solely as a facilitator on behalf of Network Rail for this Preliminary Market Engagement exercise.
The purpose of this notice is to gather industry insights on potential technologies, delivery models, risks, and commercial considerations that could inform a future procurement.
Network Rail is seeking market input to inform the development of its procurement strategy and specification for forthcoming trials of DVW solutions. The ultimate objective is to support accreditation and enable the commercialisation of the solution following successful trial outcomes.
Purpose:
Network Rail is seeking market insight to shape the forthcoming procurement and trial design for a Dynamic Virtual Wall (DVW) capability. The engagement explores technical feasibility, supplier capability, delivery models, risks, and commercial considerations. It is **not** a competitive process and confers no advantage to participants.
Network Rail aims to:
- Increase value and productivity in maintenance and renewal activities.
- Reduce Schedule 4 delay compensation costs by enabling more Any Line Open (ALO) working.
- Improve national consistency and efficiency in engineering delivery.
Current high-performance Movement Limiting Devices (MLDs) only function when RRVs operate on-rail. No approved engineering control exists for off-rail ALO operations. DVW is intended to close this gap.
The Challenge:
Develop a fail safe, safety critical DVW system that prevents RRVs or their loads from encroaching into open line clearances without physical barriers, enabling safe parallel working with live railway lines.
Required DVW Capabilities- Solutions must:
- Integrate with existing RRV fleets and hydraulic systems.
- Provide a digitally enforced boundary preventing fouling of live lines.
- Achieve minimum PLd / SIL2 equivalent performance.
- Operate reliably in diverse railway environments (EN 50125).
- Include interlocked override and external status indication.
- Consider human factors: situational awareness, cognitive load, error prevention, operator visibility, and workflow continuity.
- Automatically stop the machine before a boundary breach.
- Be deployable as a retrofit or upgrade.
Out of Scope:
- Consultancy, academic research, or early-stage R&D.
- Autonomous or semi-autonomous plant.
- Factory train alternatives to RRVs.
- Operational controls for ALO working.
Network Rail invites input on:
- Technical feasibility and technology maturity.
- Supplier capability and capacity.
- Delivery models, risks, and constraints.
- Trial design parameters and resource implications.
Responses are welcome from:
- Full DVW system providers.
- Suppliers enhancing existing MLDs.
- Systems integrators with safety-critical control expertise.
Suppliers who express an interest in this notice will receive the Preliminary Market Engagement document containing further information.
CPV: Data services · Data-acquisition system · Global navigation and positioning systems (GPS or equivalent) · Industrial control software package · Industry specific software development services · Miscellaneous software development services and computer systems · Monitoring and control services · Programming services · Railway equipment · Railway traffic control software package · Sensors · Software implementation services · +1 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How CONNECTED PLACES CATAPULT buys Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221), and who usually turns up
CONNECTED PLACES CATAPULT’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: Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in Greater London.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 44 days of the bid deadline.
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.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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.
1 bid0% / 0%
2–30% / 25%
4–620% / 25%
7+80% / 50%
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.
Below estimate50%
Within ±2%50%
Above estimate0%
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.
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 7221Estimate not published
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 102 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid8%
2–331%
4–631%
7+29%
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.
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.
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.
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
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 16 Feb 2026, 17:16 GMT
- Last source update
- 17 Feb 2026, 12:21 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-014263- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065567Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
16 Feb 2026 → 1 Oct 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published248 days ago16 Feb 2026, 17:16 GMT
- Market engagement220 days ago16 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
This engagement is exploratory and does not form part of any current procurement procedure. Responding to this Notice offers the opportunity to engage, share relevant information and provide feedback. Interested suppliers are invited to:
-Express interest by email referencing this Procurement Notice title and sending your name, organisation details, and key contact information to: [email protected]
-Complete a questionnaire, which will be issued following your expression of interest
-Attend any upcoming engagement sessions you are invited to; further details will be shared in due course.
The deadline for responses is close of play (COP) on Monday 16 March 2026.
Any questions or clarifications in respect of this notice, should only be addressed to [email protected]
This notice can be found on cimple.uk/detail/504747 ↗
- Tender notice expected140 days ago4 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts22 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 Feb 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Feb 2026, 17:16 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published17 Feb 2026, 12:21 GMTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Amended Requirement: Previous Notice : Achieve PLe / SIL3 equivalent performance. Updated Notice: Achieve minimum PLd / SIL2 equivalent performance. We lowered the required performance level to maximise supplier responses, and to allow a staged or iterative improvement path.
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
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender