Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 1 Jul 2026, 14:33 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Metro Assets Renewals Programme

Authority: Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus (Public body)

WorksAbove thresholdUtilities
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrs 7 moends 1 Apr 2032 · starts 1 Sept 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

As the Passenger Transport Executive for Tyne and Wear, Nexus is responsible for the maintenance of public transport networks across the region, including the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Nexus is undertaking a project of renewals across the Metro network, known as the Metro Assets Renewals Programme. The programme commenced in 2010 and covers a wide range of activity, including track renewals and refurbishment, station refurbishment and overhead line replacement.

The renewals programme involves the supply of a range of goods, services and works, including civils and structures, building services, electrical and mechanical, overhead line, permanent way, rolling stock, and signalling systems.

Nexus is undertaking preliminary market engagement to provide an overview of the renewal programme and the expected pipeline of related projects up to 2032, subject to ongoing funding decisions.

CPV: Installation of signalling equipment · Overhead line construction · Platforms facilities construction work · Railway signalling works · Railway station construction work · Railway-track construction materials and supplies · Railways traffic-control equipment · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment · Signalling equipment

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus buys Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523), and who usually turns up

Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus’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: Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 67 of 113 known-size awards · market: CPV 4523 · North East England, n=82
59%49%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 North East England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 166 of 201 known-location awards · market: CPV 4523 · North East England, n=124
83%19%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North East England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 15 decided notices · market: CPV 4523 · North East England, n=9
40 days34 days

Half of these awards were announced within 40 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 11 of 25 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4523 · North East England, n=124
44%45%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer135 lots with bid counts · all categories
4% had one bid
The market8 lots with bid counts · CPV 4523 · North East England
13% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid4% / 13%
Buyer: 6 of 135 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
2–324% / 25%
Buyer: 33 of 135 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
4–670% / 38%
Buyer: 94 of 135 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 8 lots with published bid counts.
7+1% / 25%
Buyer: 2 of 135 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 8 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer71 lots with estimate and award · all categories
8% below estimate
The market10 lots with estimate and award · CPV 4523 · North East England
60% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate8% / 60%
Buyer: 6 of 71 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 6 of 10 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%23% / 20%
Buyer: 16 of 71 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 2 of 10 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate69% / 20%
Buyer: 49 of 71 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 2 of 10 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 452367 monthsEstimate not published
Expected competition
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 180 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet11% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 180 similar lots
1 bid11%
19 of 180 similar past lots received 1 bid (11%).
2–319%
34 of 180 similar past lots received 2–3 (19%).
4–628%
51 of 180 similar past lots received 4–6 (28%).
7+42%
76 of 180 similar past lots received 7+ (42%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 5.5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

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.

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.

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
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
1 Jul 2026, 14:33 BST
Last source update
1 Jul 2026, 14:33 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-061809
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Installation of signalling equipmentOverhead line constructionPlatforms facilities construction workRailway signalling worksRailway station construction workRailway-track construction materials and suppliesRailways traffic-control equipmentRepair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipmentSignalling equipment
Delivery area
North East (UKC)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c16d Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

1 Jul 2026 → 1 Sept 2026 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published113 days ago
    1 Jul 2026, 14:33 BST
  2. Market engagement83 days ago
    31 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST

    All potential suppliers wishing to participate in the Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) please confirm your interest by emailing [email protected] with reference 'Metro Assets Renewals Programmes'.

    Upon receipt, you will be provided with further information for a market engagement event, run in partnership with the Rail Industry Association (RIA), on Tuesday 14th July 2026.

    Attendees will need to create an account with RIA as part of the registration process. Registration is free of charge, but early registration is recommended to ensure sufficient time to address any potential issues. The deadline for event registration is Friday10th July 2026 at 17:00.

    The initial event will cover Metro Asset Renewal, as well as broader Light Rail opportunities in Tyne & Wear, including the proposed Metro to Washington extension and Metro Go which are subject of a separate noticed. The event will feature presentations by Nexus and interactive workshops with Nexus and other delegates. The detailed agenda and event structure will be provided following confirmation of interest

    The renewals programme is an evolving project. The purpose of the initial event is to provide further insight into the programme and receive feedback from attendees. All information shared at the event is therefore indicative and subject to change. Should Nexus proceed to procurement in relation to any of the projects covered in the initial event, its requirements will be set out in the procurement documents, which will take precedence over any information provided at the event.

    Suppliers will, by registering for the initial event, also register their interest for future market engagement relating to the Metro Assets Renewals Programme.

    Suppliers who are unable to attend the event (or who do not wish to do so) can nevertheless separately register their interest in the Metro Assets Renewals Programme, in order to be notified of any future market engagement, by emailing [email protected].

    Such future market engagement may include additional events (in person or virtual), meetings (multi-lateral or bilateral), written requests and submissions (such as questionnaires) and other related activity. Nexus may, but may not, publish further notices regarding such future events, so interested suppliers are encouraged to register now if they wish to be invited to participate in the ongoing engagement programme.

    The presentations and materials/outputs from the initial event will be made available (on a suitably anonymised basis) to all suppliers who attend the event or have otherwise registered their interest in the Metro Assets Renewals Programme via the email address above. Include all relevant logistical information about the PME - dates, location, membership requirements etc

    If information/minutes will be released after the event that should be confirmed here

  3. Contract starts52 days ago
    1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    1 Jul 2026, 14:33 BST
    UK2

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

Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus

Contracting authorityPublic undertaking GB-PPON: PNTB-4383-VMJH The Spark, Newcastle Helix, St James Boulevard, Newcastle upon Tyne, North East, NE4 5DEContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure