Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 24 Oct 2025, 14:05 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Newton Heath RSS Feasibility

Official notice

Authority: Northern Trains Ltd (Public body)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdUtilitiesSME suitable
Published estimate£408,000£489,600 inc. VAT29.5% below published estimate
Submissions closed 24 Nov 2025awarded 6 Feb 2026
Awarded to SLC Rail Ltd
Contract term 6 moends 17 Aug 2026 · up to 16 Nov 2026 with extensions · starts 16 Feb 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Assessments of Newton Heath's current capacity and capabilities show significant constraints that would prevent the planned timetable for new trains being achieved. 5 key issues have been identified and this project is proposed to evaluate the feasibility and define the optimum option to resolve these issues. This lays the foundation for future design and construction projects to be established upon completion of this feasibility and option selection project.

In order to identify the optimum solution to address the issues identified at Newton Heath above, a feasibility and option selection project is required. An external supplier will be procured to produce the following deliverables:

Survey strategy and reports from specific surveys.

Risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies log.

Compliance with safety and design assurance requirements.

Overall feasibility report including constructability assessment and concept design.

Options identification report containing appraisal of possible options.

Single option agreement in principle - define the preferred single option for each scheme and obtain agreement in principle with stakeholders.

Preliminary design - multidisciplinary design of the selected single option.

Design specification of requirements for inclusion in the ITT pack for design stage.

Northern Trains Ltd, is a Train Operating Company (TOC) that operates passenger rail services in the north of England. Northern Trains Ltd is publishing this notice to establish a contract with a single supplier to carry out a feasibility study on Newton Heath Depot.

The nature of the arrangement is that services will be supplied under a JCT Consultancy Agreement.

Where used throughout this notice, the meaning of Train Operating Companies includes all and any of those train operating companies who, currently or in the future, provide services for the carriage of passengers by railway:

under a franchise agreement with the Secretary of State within the meaning of section 23(3) of the Railways Act 1993 or under, or secured under, the Secretary of State's duty in section 30(1) of the Railways Act 1993; or

in accordance with legislation which supersedes or amends the powers referred to in a) and b), including where such powers are transferred from the Secretary of State to another body.

The list of current providers of services for the carriage of passengers by railway under these provisions can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/public-regi… ↗.

Novation or Assignment

The contract may be novated or assigned by Northern Trains Ltd to Train Operating Companies, or to DFT Operator Limited (company number: 07141122) or any successor parent company to a Train Operating Company, following a corporate restructuring or similar circumstance.

Other Information

Northern Trains Limited expressly reserves the right: not to award any suppliers the contract referred to in this notice; and in no circumstances will the customer be liable for any costs incurred by the suppliers.

CPV: Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis · Railway engineering services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 6 moSMEPublished value£408,000
Contract period: 16 Feb 2026 – 17 Aug 2026 (6 mo) · up to 16 Nov 2026 with extensionsValue: £408,000 exc. VAT · £489,600 inc. VAT
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: Can be extended for a further 3 months if needed for an overall maximum potential period of 9 months.

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids were scored
Quality: 55%Price: 35%Social value: 10%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Quality Criteria: 55%
  • Price Criteria: 35%
  • Social Value Criteria: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Quality Criteria
  • Price Criteria
  • Social Value Criteria
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 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
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
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 Oct 2025, 14:05 BST
Last source update
11 Mar 2026, 09:01 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 2 Feb 2026
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-068228
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Feasibility study, advisory service, analysisRailway engineering services
Delivery area
North West (UKD3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d375 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Delta eSourcing · Who buys & how to bid on Delta
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free Select account; no DUNS asked at signup
Submission deadline
24 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
24 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

24 Oct 2025 → 11 Mar 2026 · 8 dates
  1. Tender notice published363 days ago
    24 Oct 2025, 14:05 BST
  2. Clarification questions by331 days ago
    24 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
  3. Submission deadline331 days ago
    24 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
  4. Award decision expected by261 days ago
    2 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  5. Assessment summaries sent258 days ago
    6 Feb 2026
  6. Contract starts248 days ago
    16 Feb 2026
  7. Standstill ends245 days ago
    18 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  8. Latest notice published225 days ago
    11 Mar 2026, 09:01 GMT

Notice history

6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 24 Oct 2025
  1. Tender notice published
    24 Oct 2025, 14:05 BST
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    7 Feb 2026, 23:20 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    7 Feb 2026, 23:20 GMT
  4. Buyer details updated
    7 Feb 2026, 23:20 GMT
  5. Contract signature expected
    2 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled
  6. Contract details notice published
    11 Mar 2026, 09:01 GMT
    UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £287,4811 award exc. VAT
Bids received 91 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 10 Mar 2026
Awarded toValueDateStatus
SLC Rail Ltd3 Mar 2026 – 3 Sept 2026 · up to 3 Dec 2026Extensions: Can be extended for an optional 3 months if required.£287,4816 Feb 2026Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · SLC Rail Ltd

    Signed
    10 Mar 2026
    Value
    £287,481
    Period
    10 Mar 2026 – 10 Sept 2026 · up to 10 Dec 2026 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    optional 3 months extension if required

    No agreed KPIs: the contract is not more than £5million therefore KPIs have not been set.

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
9final-stage tenders10—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

NORTHERN TRAINS LIMITED

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-COH: 03076444 · GB-PPON: PZCJ-2164-HJQZ George Stephenson House, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 6JTContact email

Consortium members and other public bodies

  • Northern Trains LtdContracting authorityPublic undertakingGB-PPON: PZCJ-2164-HJQZ York, Yorkshire & HumberContact name, email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • SABLE LEIGH CONSULTANCY LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 07007876GB-PPON: PXCN-2719-CWJY 4 Brindley Place, Birmingham, West Midlands, B1 2JBContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender