Official UK procurement notice
Integration Technical Operations Assurance & Environment (ITOAE)
Authority: East West Rail Company Limited (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe East West Railway Company (the Authority) is responsible for the delivery of East West Rail (EWR), a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project providing new and upgraded rail links between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. EWR Co. is responsible for leading the development, procurement and commissioning of the railway.
The Authority is undertaking a procurement for an Integration, Technical, Operations, Assurance and Environmental (ITOAE) Partner to support the development and delivery of the EWR programme.
Overview of the Intended Contract.
The Authority is appointing a single ITOAE Partner under an NEC4 Professional Service Contract, operated as a term appointment, for a period of up to twelve (12) years, with value-for-money breakpoints at Years 3, 6 and 9. The ITOAE Partner is a single contract: it is not a framework and it is not divided into lots. Services comprise a continuous Core Services baseline across all five pillars (Integration; Technical; Operations; Assurance; and Environmental & Consents), with time-bound Authorised Services instructed as required.
Relationship with the CSF and main works.
The Authority is separately procuring a Client Support Framework (CSF). The Authority's position is that the ITOAE Partner will be structurally separated from the CSF and from the main works: the appointed ITOAE Partner will not be eligible to be awarded a main works contract or a place on the CSF for the duration of the ITOAE contract. The purpose of this separation is to protect the independence of integration and assurance, to mitigate real or perceived conflicts of interest, and to align with independent review findings on major programme governance (including the Stewart Review, 2025).
Conditions of Participation.
The conditions of participation are summarised in the Participation section of this notice and will be assessed, with full detail and scoring, in the Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ) issued at the selection stage, in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024.
Indicative Scope of Services.
At this stage, the Authority has defined the high-level scope of services. These are expected to include, by pillar:
Integration: support EWR's Prime System Integrator role; develop and maintain the System Integration Strategy and Master Integration Schedule; identify, manage and resolve technical, organisational and contractual interfaces; configuration control and change alignment; migration and transition planning; coordinate integration with Network Rail, TOCs/FOCs, DfT, ORR and adjacent programmes; manage integration risks and assumptions; coordinate systems integration testing and proving; and uplift EWR's integration capability.
Technical: define and maintain technical frameworks, standards and design principles; provide independent technical challenge and assurance of design; support the Client's Design Authority; systems engineering (SEMP, requirements, MBSE); manage technical interfaces; digital integration (BIM / ISO 19650, Digital Spine); testing, validation and Entry Into Service readiness; capability to act as Lead Design Organisation (LDO) under NR/L2/RSE/02009 for specified areas; design maturity assessment at PACE reviews; legislation and standards management; safety cases (EN 50126/50128/50129) and Independent Safety Assessment coordination; and whole-life asset management (ISO 55000).
Operations: support the Concept of Operations and Maintenance; train plan and timetable development and modelling; operational performance modelling; rolling stock (BEMU) and depot support; route compatibility and certification; Trial Running and Trial Operations; operational readiness and Entry Into Service; staff competence and route learning; and integration with Train Operators and the future Infrastructure Manager (Network Rail / GBR).
Assurance: provide independent, programme-level (second-line / LOD2) assurance across all pillars; define and implement the assurance framework and schedule; coordinate design, technical and construction assurance; authorisation and certification strategies; submit evidence to regulators; track assurance actions to closure; provide a Construction Quality capability under NR/L2/RSE/02009; support GMPP reporting to DfT and NISTA; maintain the Integrated Assurance & Approvals Strategy; and assure ISO 19650, CDE and Digital Spine compliance.
Environmental & Consents: coordinate the environmental and consents strategy; manage post-DCO consents and approvals; assure environmental compliance and commitments; lead carbon and sustainability (PAS 2080, BREEAM); support NPSNN compliance; manage DCO commitments and Requirements discharge; maintain the Environmental Statement and monitoring; support Biodiversity Net Gain; set and audit the Code of Construction Practice / LEMP standard; and coordinate statutory pollution, noise and species consents and licensing.
This procurement will be run concurrently with others. Bidders may tender for any or all of the Lots/Contracts identified in the table shown in document ‘ITOAE - Appendix A - Package Bidding and Award Constraints’. This approach is intended to support market participation and allow bidders to put forward appropriate delivery solutions.
However, submitting tenders for multiple Lots/Contracts across the Procurements does not mean a bidder will be eligible to be awarded all Lots/Contracts. Award decisions will be subject to the Lot/Contract interaction rules set out in the letter, which are intended to:
- Maintain independence between assurance, management and delivery functions.
- Avoid conflicts of interest.
- Prevent excessive concentration of specialist services within a single organisation.
- Preserve effective commercial oversight.
- Ensure suppliers have sufficient capacity and capability to successfully deliver awarded contracts.
Please ensure you refer to the document ‘ITOAE - Appendix A - Package Bidding and Award Constraints’ or further detail.
- Two-stage procedure: up to 5 candidates will be invited to tender.
- How the procedure runs: This is a multi-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure. Stage 0: Expression of Interest (Appendix C) and, where applicable, the signed Ethical Walls Agreement (Appendix B), which is the gateway to receiving the selection documents. Stage 1 (Selection): completion of the Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ), by which interested parties submit their request to participate and are assessed against the conditions of participation. Stage 2 (Tender): the Invitation to Tender (ITT) is issued to selected participants. Stage 3: evaluation and award. The process, timetable and documents are set out in the Guidance for Interested Parties issued with this notice.
CPV: Civil engineering consultancy services · Engineering services · Environmental services · Health and safety consultancy services · Project management consultancy services · Railway engineering services · Supervision of project and documentation
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£300,000,000
- Economic & financial standing
Assessed on a pass/fail basis at the selection (PSQ) stage. Requirements:
(a) audited accounts for the last two financial years;
(b) minimum average annual turnover of [Authority to confirm] over the last two financial years (not more than twice the estimated annual contract value, in line with the Procurement Act 2023);
(c) evidence of economic and financial standing (for example a credit rating or equivalent); and
(d) the following insurances in place on award: professional indemnity [to confirm], public liability [to confirm] and employer's liability [to confirm].
Full detail and the scoring basis are set out in the PSQ issued at the selection stage.
- Technical & professional ability
Assessed on a pass/fail and scored basis at the selection (PSQ) stage, covering:
(a) relevant experience of comparable integration, technical, operations, assurance and environmental and consents services on major rail or nationally significant infrastructure programmes (example contracts within the last [to confirm] years);
(b) capability and capacity to resource a continuous Core Services baseline across all five pillars, with time-bound Authorised Services instructed as required;
(c) relevant accreditations and standards (for example quality, health and safety, environmental and information management); and
(d) completion of the mandatory Ethical Walls Agreement where applicable (Appendix B).
Full detail and the scoring basis are set out in the PSQ issued at the selection stage.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Documents are issued in stages. Issued now, with this notice: the Guidance for Interested Parties, Appendix A (Package Bidding and Award Constraints), Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement), Appendix C (Expression of Interest), Appendix D (Market Engagement Findings) and Appendix E (E-Sourcing Guide).
To proceed, an interested party must submit Appendix C (Expression of Interest) and, where applicable, the signed Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement) by 13 November 2026. This is the gateway to the competition; parties who do not submit by this deadline will not be issued the selection documents.
The Ethical Walls Agreement is mandatory for all parties to which it applies (existing Authority suppliers, and any party, including consortium members, affiliates and subcontractors, with access to Authority confidential information). It is issued on a non-negotiable basis and must be signed and returned as issued; it must not be amended or marked up, and any amended version will be rejected.
The Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ) documents only will then be released to cleared parties on 30 November 2026. The deadline for the request to participate (the completed PSQ) is 29 January 2027. This is the PSQ deadline, not the Expression of Interest deadline.
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) is not issued at this stage. It will be issued to selected participants at the next stage.
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 (3)
- Technical: 60%
- Commercial: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical: The overall award weighting is fixed at 70% quality and 30% commercial. The detailed sub-criteria, questions and scoring will be set out in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). In accordance with section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority may refine the sub-criteria and questions within these weightings; the overall 70% quality / 30% commercial weighting will not change.
- Commercial: The overall award weighting is fixed at 70% quality and 30% commercial. The detailed sub-criteria, questions and scoring will be set out in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). In accordance with section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority may refine the sub-criteria and questions within these weightings; the overall 70% quality / 30% commercial weighting will not change.
- Social Value: The overall award weighting is fixed at 70% quality and 30% commercial. The detailed sub-criteria, questions and scoring will be set out in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). In accordance with section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority may refine the sub-criteria and questions within these weightings; the overall 70% quality / 30% commercial weighting will not change.
- Economic & financial standing
Assessed on a pass/fail basis at the selection (PSQ) stage. Requirements:
(a) audited accounts for the last two financial years;
(b) minimum average annual turnover of [Authority to confirm] over the last two financial years (not more than twice the estimated annual contract value, in line with the Procurement Act 2023);
(c) evidence of economic and financial standing (for example a credit rating or equivalent); and
(d) the following insurances in place on award: professional indemnity [to confirm], public liability [to confirm] and employer's liability [to confirm].
Full detail and the scoring basis are set out in the PSQ issued at the selection stage.
- Technical & professional ability
Assessed on a pass/fail and scored basis at the selection (PSQ) stage, covering:
(a) relevant experience of comparable integration, technical, operations, assurance and environmental and consents services on major rail or nationally significant infrastructure programmes (example contracts within the last [to confirm] years);
(b) capability and capacity to resource a continuous Core Services baseline across all five pillars, with time-bound Authorised Services instructed as required;
(c) relevant accreditations and standards (for example quality, health and safety, environmental and information management); and
(d) completion of the mandatory Ethical Walls Agreement where applicable (Appendix B).
Full detail and the scoring basis are set out in the PSQ issued at the selection stage.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Documents are issued in stages. Issued now, with this notice: the Guidance for Interested Parties, Appendix A (Package Bidding and Award Constraints), Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement), Appendix C (Expression of Interest), Appendix D (Market Engagement Findings) and Appendix E (E-Sourcing Guide).
To proceed, an interested party must submit Appendix C (Expression of Interest) and, where applicable, the signed Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement) by 13 November 2026. This is the gateway to the competition; parties who do not submit by this deadline will not be issued the selection documents.
The Ethical Walls Agreement is mandatory for all parties to which it applies (existing Authority suppliers, and any party, including consortium members, affiliates and subcontractors, with access to Authority confidential information). It is issued on a non-negotiable basis and must be signed and returned as issued; it must not be amended or marked up, and any amended version will be rejected.
The Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ) documents only will then be released to cleared parties on 30 November 2026. The deadline for the request to participate (the completed PSQ) is 29 January 2027. This is the PSQ deadline, not the Expression of Interest deadline.
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) is not issued at this stage. It will be issued to selected participants at the next stage.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £49,988,587 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How East West Rail Company Limited buys Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131), and who usually turns up
East West Rail Company 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: Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131) →
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.
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.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in 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 48 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 bid14%
2–324%
4–629%
7+33%
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 estimate42%
Within ±2%43%
Above estimate15%
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 7131Published estimate£300m
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 455 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid14%
2–324%
4–629%
7+33%
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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Requests to participate open
- 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
- 30 Oct 2026, 17:25 GMT
- Last source update
- 30 Oct 2026, 17:25 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Nov 2027
- Authority reference
CT4946- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-103452- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079509Find a Tender
- How it runs
This is a multi-stage Competitive Flexible Procedure. Stage 0: Expression of Interest (Appendix C) and, where applicable, the signed Ethical Walls Agreement (Appendix B), which is the gateway to receiving the selection documents. Stage 1 (Selection): completion of the Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ), by which interested parties submit their request to participate and are assessed against the conditions of participation. Stage 2 (Tender): the Invitation to Tender (ITT) is issued to selected participants. Stage 3: evaluation and award. The process, timetable and documents are set out in the Guidance for Interested Parties issued with this notice.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Jaggaer- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Tender submission deadline
- 13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Shortlist
- up to 5 candidates invited to tender
Timeline
30 Oct 2026 → 3 Apr 2028 · 5 dates- Tender notice published6h ago30 Oct 2026, 17:25 GMT
- Today31 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 6 days6 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 13 days13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 395 days30 Nov 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts3 Apr 2028, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published30 Oct 2026, 17:25 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- 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 copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Documents are issued in stages. Issued now, with this notice: the Guidance for Interested Parties, Appendix A (Package Bidding and Award Constraints), Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement), Appendix C (Expression of Interest), Appendix D (Market Engagement Findings) and Appendix E (E-Sourcing Guide). To proceed, an interested party must submit Appendix C (Expression of Interest) and, where applicable, the signed Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement) by 13 November 2026. This is the gateway to the competition; parties who do not submit by this deadline will not be issued the selection documents. The Ethical Walls Agreement is mandatory for all parties to which it applies (existing Authority suppliers, and any party, including consortium members, affiliates and subcontractors, with access to Authority confidential information). It is issued on a non-negotiable basis and must be signed and returned as issued; it must not be amended or marked up, and any amended version will be rejected. The Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ) documents only will then be released to cleared parties on 30 November 2026. The deadline for the request to participate (the completed PSQ) is 29 January 2027. This is the PSQ deadline, not the Expression of Interest deadline. The Invitation to Tender (ITT) is not issued at this stage. It will be issued to selected participants at the next stage.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender