Official UK procurement notice
NEX26/18 Battery Locomotives Refurbishment
Authority: Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNexus will be tendering for the detailed design and associated works to refurbish three battery locomotives, bespoke to the Nexus Metro network, which have become unreliable and not fit for purpose.
The locomotives were originally supplied by Hunslet-GMT in the early 1990's and are a key asset in the emergency recovery of Nexus rolling stock and movement of the rail head treatment train across the Metro railway. Currently network operates from a 1500V DC overhead line system, the battery locos are approved to operate on Network Rail assets, although is not necessarily required to maintain this approval.
The refurbishment will encompass:
Traction and Solid‑State Power Systems
Modernisation of the traction equipment (motor alternator and motor generator set) using solid‑state power technology and power electronics.
Mechanical Systems & Running Gear
Overhaul of structural components, suspension, wheelsets, and key mechanical assemblies.
Electrical & Control Systems
Renewal of high voltage and auxiliary electrical systems upgraded control equipment, and readiness for future signalling integration.
Braking Systems
Refurbishment and commissioning of brake discs and brake system.
Cab and Operator Environment
Improvements to the cab environment (sealing, comfort, ergonomics) and general enhancements
Potential suppliers will be given an opportunity to view the vehicles as part of the market engagement exercise, prior to a formal procurement.
Design Requirements
The design requirements for the battery locomotives are:
- Maximum speed 55kph
- Pantograph height above rail when lowered - 3555mm
- Pantograph height when fully raised - 5666mm
- Vehicle width - 2600mm
- Wheel diameter - 838mm
- Cab height above rail - 3160mm
- Wheelbase - 2500mm
- Length over buffers - 7500mm
- Length over extended coupler - 9000mm
- Tare / gross weight - 26.25t
- Couplers are Bergische Stahl Industrie (BSI) with a standard screw coupling
- Wheel arrangement is 0-4-0
- Continuous power rating of 180hp
- High voltage circuit - supply from 1500V DC overhead line system
- Indusi track brake equipment
- Lead Acid traction battery - 540V, 116kWh at 5-hour discharge
- Low voltage circuits, - 110V, 24V
- Traction motor (one) - 180hp, 540V DC force ventilated.
Estimated value: £1,000,000 - £2,000,000
CPV: Construction work · Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive T/A Nexus buys Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts (CPV 3460), 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: Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts (CPV 3460) →
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North East England.
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 40 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 bid4% / 30%
2–324% / 30%
4–670% / 26%
7+1% / 13%
How did awards compare with estimates?
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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 estimate8% / 21%
Within ±2%23% / 53%
Above estimate69% / 26%
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 3460Estimate not published
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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%
2–330%
4–626%
7+13%
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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
- Below threshold
- 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 Apr 2026, 15:49 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Apr 2026, 15:49 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-037715- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068af2Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
24 Apr 2026 → 4 Dec 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published181 days ago24 Apr 2026, 15:49 BST
- Market engagement104 days ago10 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
Nexus is undertaking Pre Market Engagement for the design and refurbishment of the battery locomotives
Nexus invites interested suppliers to view the vehicles at their maintenance facility in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Following these visits, Nexus would like to discuss with suppliers the content and feasibility of the proposed scope.
Before these sessions, Nexus will circulate a questionnaire outlining the key points for discussion, to be returned following the viewing of the vehicles. It is envisaged that Nexus will share with suppliers further technical details of the vehicles, condition reports and approval procedures to best inform these discussions.
Visits to Nexus' maintenance facility will take place over week commencing the 1st of June 2026. It is envisaged there will be two x three-hour slots available per day. Suppliers must register their interest in the visits via email to [email protected] by no later than 22 May 2026. Dates / times will then be allocated to interested suppliers dependent on take-up. The above-mentioned questionnaire will be provided alongside confirmation of suppliers' date/time for the visit.
This Preliminary Market Engagement will allow Nexus to:
- Understand the market's appetite and capability to design and refurbish the three battery locomotives.
- Explore key delivery considerations
- Understand risks and issues not previously considered
- Gather feedback from potential suppliers in advance of any formal procurement.
- Tender notice expected44 days ago8 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 42 days4 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Apr 2026, 15:49 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender