Official UK procurement notice
Insulated Rail Joints & Rail Ancillaries
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNetwork Rail is undertaking market research to assess the current level of industry interest, capability and capacity for the manufacture and supply of Insulated Rail Joints (IRJs) and Rail Ancillaries (Closure Rails). These goods will be required to be manufactured to specified standards, supplied in varying lengths and configurations, and delivered to meet both planned and emergency operational requirements.
The Information Document available via Bravo provides full details of the requirement, including:
- Background to the requirement and the operational context
- Technical specifications for all IRJ and Closure Rail types
- Applicable rail profiles, joint configurations and manufacturing processes
- Anticipated monthly and annual volumes based on historic demand
- Expected lead times, including short‑notice and emergency supply requirements
- Compliance obligations, including relevant Network Rail standards, drawings and Product Acceptance requirements
- Preferred site location considerations to support same‑day and nationwide delivery capability
The following supporting documents will be made available as part of the engagement:
- Network Rail Technical Specification for the Design, Assembly and Testing of Glued Insulated Rail Joints (November 2025)
- Standards:
- RT/CE/S/023 Insulated Rail Joints
- RT/CE/S/050 Process for Cold‑Expanding New Fishbolt Holes by the Split Sleeve Method (NR/SP/TRK/050)
- NR/L3/TRK/4004 Switch and Crossing Assemblies
- RE/PW Drawings:
- RE/PW/624 (Twisted Closure Rails)
- RE/PW/549 (95RBH)
- RE/PW/792 (CEN56E1)
- RE/PW/979 (CEN60E2)
- NR/L2/TRK/2049 Track Design Handbook
Product Acceptance (PA) is required before supply may commence. PA activities may form part of mobilisation, and the contract will not move into delivery until PA is fully approved by Network Rail. Suppliers will be expected to support the PA process by providing the necessary technical documentation, evidence and sample materials as required.
Suppliers are invited to review the Information Document and complete the questionnaire within the PQQ. The information gathered will help Network Rail understand current market capability, production capacity, compliance readiness and the ability to meet the supply requirements for IRJs and Closure Rails.
This market engagement is issued for information‑gathering purposes only and does not constitute a call for competition, nor does participation or non‑participation affect eligibility for any future procurement opportunity.
CPV: Rails · Rails and accessories · Track rails
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED buys Railway equipment (CPV 3494), and who usually turns up
NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED’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: Railway equipment (CPV 3494) →
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside 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 156 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% / 30%
2–350% / 35%
4–638% / 30%
7+0% / 4%
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% / 50%
Within ±2%0% / 22%
Above estimate17% / 28%
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 3494Published estimate£20m
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 23 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid30%
2–335%
4–630%
7+4%
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
- Goods
- 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
- 24 Feb 2026, 13:57 GMT
- Last source update
- 19 Aug 2026, 11:39 BST
- Authority reference
project_45656- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-078899- Latest notice
- Pipeline notice (UK1)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065b10Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
24 Feb 2026 → 1 Nov 2028 · 5 dates- Planning notice published239 days ago24 Feb 2026, 13:57 GMT
- Market engagement217 days ago17 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
Network Rail is undertaking a market engagement exercise to understand current market interest, capability, and capacity for the manufacture and supply of Insulated Rail Joints (IRJs) and Rail Ancillaries (Closure Rails). These goods will be required to be manufactured to specified standards, supplied in varying lengths and configurations, and delivered to meet both planned and emergency operational requirements.
This engagement aims to gather information from suppliers who have the technical capability, production capacity, and supply-chain readiness to support Network Rail’s ongoing operational and maintenance requirements.
The Information Document provides detailed information regarding:
- Background to the requirement
- Technical specifications for IRJs and Closure Rails
- Applicable rail types, joint types, and manufacturing processes
- Anticipated monthly and annual volumes
- Lead time expectations, including emergency call‑off requirements
- Compliance obligations, standards, drawings and Product Acceptance processes
- Preferred site location considerations to support nationwide delivery
The following supporting documents will be made available as part of the engagement:
- Network Rail Technical Specification for the Design, Assembly and Testing of Glued Insulated Rail Joints (November 2025)
- Standards:
- RT/CE/S/023 Insulated Rail Joints
- RT/CE/S/050 Process for Cold‑Expanding New Fishbolt Holes by the Split Sleeve Method (NR/SP/TRK/050)
- NR/L3/TRK/4004 Switch and Crossing Assemblies
- RE/PW Drawings:
- RE/PW/624 (Twisted Closure Rails)
- RE/PW/549 (95RBH)
- RE/PW/792 (CEN56E1)
- RE/PW/979 (CEN60E2)
- NR/L2/TRK/2049 Track Design Handbook
Product Acceptance (PA) is required before supply may commence. PA activities may form part of mobilisation, and the contract will not move into delivery until PA is fully approved by Network Rail. Suppliers will be expected to support the PA process by providing the necessary technical documentation, evidence and sample materials as required.
Suppliers are invited to review the Information Document and complete the questionnaire available within the PQQ. Responses will be used for information‑gathering purposes only and will help Network Rail assess market maturity, capability and potential capacity ahead of any future procurement activity. This engagement does not constitute a call for competition.
During the engagement window, suppliers may submit clarification questions using the correspondence function within Bravo. All clarification responses will be issued through the portal to ensure fairness and transparency.
There are currently no scheduled in‑person or virtual engagement events. However, Network Rail may hold additional sessions depending on supplier interest or the need for further technical discussion.
Instructions for suppliers:
- Access, download and review the Information Document and Questionnaire via the Bravo portal: networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk ↗ under ‘Current Opportunities’.
- Submit clarification questions through the Bravo correspondence function before the clarification deadline.
- Complete and return the questionnaire by 17:00 on the engagement deadline date.
- Ensure responses provide accurate information relating to capability, capacity, compliance status and delivery feasibility.
Network Rail welcomes participation from all interested suppliers, including established manufacturers, innovators and potential new entrants to the market. Responses received will inform future strategy and ensure the supply chain is well positioned for potential forthcoming opportunities.
Non‑participation in this market engagement will not preclude any organisation from taking part in future procurement processes. Should a formal procurement exercise be launched, Network Rail will publish a tender notice as a call for competition.
- Latest notice published63 days ago19 Aug 2026, 11:39 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 119 days16 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Nov 2028
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 24 Feb 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Feb 2026, 13:57 GMTUK2
- Pipeline notice published19 Aug 2026, 11:39 BSTUK1
- Published value published: £20,000,00019 Aug 2026, 11:39 BST
- Status changed to planned19 Aug 2026, 11:39 BST
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
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender