Official UK procurement notice
Historical Railways Estate 2027 - Works Framework
Authority: National Highways Limited (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionReplacement contract for the existing Historical Railways Estate Works Framework which expires in 2027.
The Historical Railways Estate (HRE) is a collection of over 3,100 structures and assets which were once part of Britain's rail network, with many structures that are over 100 years old. These structures reside within England, Scotland & Wales.
Once managed by BRB (Residuary) Limited, which was dissolved in 2013, National Highways has been responsible for looking after these structures on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT) since September 2013.
The Estate is made up of a wide variety of structures and other assets that National Highways is required to maintain and make safe, so the work generally involves repairs, strengthening, restoration and cyclical maintenance/surveys/inspections.
National Highways cannot provide these services in-house and therefore is required to outsource these activities to compliant suppliers.
Further Details relating to HRE is available on the National Highways website: nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/historical-… ↗
Scope of Works includes:
Major:
- Demolition
- Waterproofing
- Masonry brickwork and stonework repairs
- Repair and protective treatment of metallic structures
Minor:
- Clearance of vegetation
- Masonry brickwork and stonework repairs and pointing
- Stabilisation of loose masonry
- Providing safety or security fencing
- Reactive response to unauthorised access
Emergency Response:
- The ability to attend site within 4 hours
- Make the site safe and carry out minor repairs
- Bridge strikes/crashes, flooding, storm damage etc.
CPV: Bridge construction work · Bridge renewal construction work · Construction work for iron bridges · Construction work for steel bridges · Construction work for tunnels, shafts and subways · Footbridge construction work · Railway bridge construction work · Railway viaduct construction work · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment · Road bridge construction work · Road viaduct construction work · Viaduct construction work
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 7 yrs · up to 9 yrs 10 mo from 25 Aug 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Historical Railways Estate 2027 - Works 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 National Highways Limited buys Engineering works and construction works (CPV 4522), and who usually turns up
National Highways 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: Engineering works and construction works (CPV 4522) →
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.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
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 West Midlands (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 West Midlands.
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 87 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 bid1%
2–312%
4–620%
7+66%
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.
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.
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 4522Published estimate£140m
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 210 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid3%
2–319%
4–616%
7+62%
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
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- 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
- 15 May 2025, 11:59 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Jun 2026, 15:05 BST
- Authority reference
pro_20927- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-058188- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05142fFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
15 May 2025 → 25 Aug 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published15 May 2025, 11:59 BST
- Latest notice published123 days ago19 Jun 2026, 15:05 BST
- Market engagement102 days ago10 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
National Highways is undertaking pre-market engagement to help inform the future re-procurement of the Historical Railway Estate (HRE) Works Framework. The purpose of this engagement is to seek feedback from the market on potential procurement and delivery approaches, including framework structure, lotting and commercial considerations.
This engagement is for information gathering purposes only and does not form part of any formal procurement process. Any future procurement activity will be advertised openly in line with public sector procurement requirements.
Information contained in this notice and any additional documents may be subject to change including any subsequent procurement activity. The information collated from this questionnaire will be used only for the purpose described here and information will be held securely.
Suppliers are requested to provide responses to the questions via Microsoft Forms and can provide additional information if relevant. Please do not provide additional sales or marketing literature.
Please note, in order to bid for any National Highways contract you must be registered on the Central Digital Platform, as well as our own National Highways e-Sourcing platform. Guidance on how to register for our e-Sourcing platform is contained within the OneDrive folder.
Please access the questions via this link: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/CmtndrZqcE ↗
The form will close at 17:00 Friday 10th July 2026.
Supplementary information can be found at the following OneDrive area: highways.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/NationalHighwa… ↗
- Tender notice expected4 days ago16 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 308 days25 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 May 2025- Pipeline notice published15 May 2025, 11:59 BSTUK1
- Pipeline notice published19 May 2026, 14:54 BSTUK1
- Published value updated to £140,000,00019 May 2026, 14:54 BSTwas £254,000,000
- Buyer details updated19 May 2026, 14:54 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Jun 2026, 15:05 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Amendment to estimated value. Amendment to associated email. Amendment to extension options. Amendment to estimated publication date. Amendment to estimated contract start date.
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
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- National Highways LimitedContracting authorityPublic authority - central government
Official documents & specifications (3)
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
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender