Official UK procurement notice
GBRX UDM Innovation and Technology
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNetwork Rail Infrastructure Limited through its division GBRX (‘GBRX’), intends to establish a dynamic market for rail innovation and technology. The X platform (the shop window) will provide a compliant, transparent and continuously open route to market for suppliers to participate in future innovation, research development, trials, pilots and scalable deployment opportunities.
It is intended that the Utilities Dynamic Market (UDM) will be made available for use by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, GBRX, the Department for Transport, DfT Operator Limited and other contracting authorities within the Network Rail group, including any subsidiaries or successor bodies, where their requirements fall within the scope of the UDM.
The UDM, provided through the X platform, supports the identification, development, testing and adoption of technologies and solutions that improve railway performance, safety, efficiency, passenger experience, sustainability and value for money. The UDM will allow suppliers to join by meeting proportionate Conditions of Membership and compete for future requirements issued through tender notices against defined problem statements.
Scope of opportunities under the UDM may include data integration & advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, train-borne asset management technology, network & asset system modelling, network planning, predictability & passenger communications, advanced computation & data science, train control and positioning technologies, and energy generation and management.
The UDM will be operated under the Procurement Act 2023. Future opportunities may may include the following stages: market engagement, R&D, trials, pilots, demonstrations, phased delivery, down-selection and contract awards where solutions are suitable for wider adoption, when funding and business need are confirmed.
The UDM is intended to reduce barriers to innovation by creating a single, accessible and transparent entry point for suppliers, including SMEs, VCSEs, new entrants and established industry partners. It will support supplier collaboration, consortium working where appropriate, and a repeatable pathway from problem identification through to trial, evaluation and potential deployment.
Please note, the contract start and contract end date stated in this notice are the anticipated end date of the market engagement being undertaken.
CPV: Computer equipment and supplies · Custom software development services · Data analysis services · Data management services · Data services · Design and execution of research and development · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Pre-feasibility study and technological demonstration · Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment · Research and development consultancy services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research and experimental development services · +4 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED buys Computer equipment and supplies (CPV 3020), and who usually turns up
NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Computer equipment and supplies (CPV 3020) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 148 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
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.
1 bid13% / 13%
2–350% / 27%
4–638% / 7%
7+0% / 53%
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 estimate83% / 40%
Within ±2%0% / 40%
Above estimate17% / 20%
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 7226Published estimate£200m
This lot is listed as CPV 7226. The table above uses the notice category.
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 74 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid27%
2–331%
4–620%
7+22%
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
- 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
- 21 May 2026, 16:11 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Jul 2026, 10:54 BST
- Authority reference
SR43734- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-063523- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069fd1Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
21 May 2026 → 30 Sept 2026 · 5 dates- Planning notice published157 days ago21 May 2026, 16:11 BST
- Latest notice published110 days ago7 Jul 2026, 10:54 BST
- Tender notice expected55 days ago30 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts25 days ago30 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Market engagement24 days ago30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
This notice does not relate to preliminary market engagement linked to the publication of a tender notice, in accordance with section 16 of the Procurement Act 2023. This preliminary market engagement notice is intended to intimate to suppliers that Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, through GBRX, intends to establish a Utilities Dynamic Market (UDM) for rail innovation and technology requirements, and wishes to engage with suppliers in order to develop its requirements and approach to establish the UDM.
It is intended that the Utilities Dynamic Market will be made available for use by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, GBRX, the Department for Transport, DfT Operator Limited and other contracting authorities within the Network Rail group, including any subsidiaries or successor bodies, where their requirements fall within the scope of the UDM.
GBRX intends to establish a UDM for rail innovation and technology requirements. The UDM is intended to provide a compliant, transparent and continuously open route to market for suppliers to participate in future innovation, research and development, trials, pilots and scalable deployment opportunities.
GBRX is conducting Preliminary Market Engagement to raise awareness of the proposed X-Platform, and in particular to seek engagement to achieve the following:
- Help GBRX shape the proposed UDM structure, including possible division into Parts / categories;
- Take account of suppliers' views on proposed conditions for membership and other suggestions to ensure these are appropriate and proportionate for the opportunities under the UDM;
- Highlight risks or barriers, and provide feedback before the X platform goes live.
- Supplier Engagement Event
GBRX will hold an online supplier engagement session for interested suppliers on 29 July 2026, between 11-12 via Microsoft Teams Webinar.
GBRX is seeking supplier feedback on the clarity, accessibility and practicality of a proposed approach, and any barriers to participation.
To register for the event please follow the instructions below:
A. Follow the link
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d14fe0ed-e72a-… ↗
If you have any difficulties in registering for the event or would like to pre-submit a question for the upcoming webinar please email
- Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ)
After the webinar we will be providing a questionnaire for further feedback.
- Supplier Clarification Question process
Please feel free to email any questions to [email protected]. If your email contains commercially sensitive information please make us aware.
GBRX request that should anything be considered a USP and IPR to your organisation that this is marked (CONFIDENTIAL & COMMERCIALLY SENSITIVE) on the clarification or email at the very top of the clarification or email, so that NR can consider ensuring protection of the same.
Feedback from the webinar, and the subsequent Market Sounding Questionnaire will help inform the design of the X platform before any future tender notices are issued.
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 21 May 2026- Pipeline notice published21 May 2026, 16:11 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published7 Jul 2026, 10:54 BSTUK2
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
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender