Official UK procurement notice
GWR - Train Planning System
Authority: FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis procurement process is being advertised and run by First Greater Western limited on its own behalf and on behalf of the successor operator of the rail passenger transport services in respect of Great Western Railway (GWR). That successor operator will be a public sector company, is expected to be a wholly owned subsidiary of DfT OLR Holdings Limited and will be ultimately owned by the Secretary of State for Transport. The date for transfer of the current operations to the successor operator is not yet confirmed. Where the transfer is completed before contract award under this procurement process, the successor operator may elect (but will not be obliged) to carry on with this procurement process in place of GWR, by taking on the role of contracting entity from the date of completion of the transfer (with this notice and all other procurement documents to be interpreted accordingly). Where the transfer is not yet completed by the time of contract award, contractual rights may be included in the contractual arrangements to enable transfer to the successor operator. Bidders should note that this procurement process (if ongoing), or any awarded contract, may be included in a transfer scheme made by the Secretary of State under section 12 of the Railways Act 2005, or the transfer may be effected outside of, or separate from, such a scheme.
If transfer takes place before the contract award the successor operator shall assume all the rights of the Client set out in this document. All references to the Client shall be deemed to refer to the successor operator for the purposes of this procurement and the successor operator shall be entitled to continue or terminate this procurement as if it was involved
GWR seeks to procure and implement a modern, future-proofed train planning solution that ensures continuity of service delivery and operational safety. The new system will integrate seamlessly with rostering and control platforms.
In terms of the overall project Objectives, they can be summarised as follows:
- Provide a new system that can replicate and improve on current functionality as well as having the opportunity for further development and efficiencies
- To provide our colleagues a System that helps support decision making and improves outputs
- Undertake the transition programme to a new system in a way that does not have an impact on the day-to-day Business outputs whilst it is taking place.
- Bring our colleagues with us throughout the programme and ensure they are trained in the best possible way to learn the new system.
- To ensure value for tax-payer funds from this procurement, demonstrating GWR's commitment to being a "good and efficient operator".
- How the procedure runs: Expressions of Interest, Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Invitation to Tender Supplier Demonstration of Proposed Solution
CPV: Industry specific software package
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£3,000,000
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Quality: 60%
- Commercial: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- Commercial
- Quality
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Closed
- 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
- 18 Jul 2025, 13:29 BST
- Last source update
- 31 Jul 2026, 16:08 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 12 Mar 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-072871- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05621dFind a Tender
- How it runs
Expressions of Interest,
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
Invitation to Tender
Supplier Demonstration of Proposed Solution
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 28 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline
- 28 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
18 Jul 2025 → 2 Jun 2027 · 6 dates- Planning notice published18 Jul 2025, 13:29 BST
- Market engagement12 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
GWR want to hear from suppliers who feel they can realistically provide the Service. The project team are happy to discuss over Teams, face to face or on site. The GWR team will agree the next steps as interest is received.
Please register your interest in participating in this stage here ; redirect.transaxions.com/events/2p4L0 ↗
- Tender notice published88 days ago31 Jul 2026, 16:08 BST
- Submission deadline60 days ago28 Aug 2026, 16:00 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 136 days12 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 217 days2 Jun 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Jul 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Jul 2025, 13:29 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Jul 2025, 13:31 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published31 Jul 2026, 16:08 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £3,000,00031 Jul 2026, 16:08 BST
- Status changed to active31 Jul 2026, 16:08 BST
- Procurement method changed31 Jul 2026, 16:08 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender