Official UK procurement notice
Rail Grinding for Network Rail (High Speed)
Authority: NETWORK RAIL (HIGH SPEED) LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNetwork Rail (HS) Ltd seeks a High-Speed Grinding service to maintain both Plain Line and Switch & Crossing (S&C) sections of the HS1 infrastructure, primarily during summer maintenance campaigns. The work will also include grinding in ballast and slab track tunnels to enhance rail performance, extend asset life, and control issues such as rolling contact fatigue, corrugation, and spalling. The service will be carried out using specialist grinding vehicles on both up and down lines to restore rail head profile and ensure the long-term integrity of the track.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 30 Nov 2031, 23:59 GMT.
- How the procedure runs: This is a single-stage tender procedure, which suppliers will be invited to following a PSQ stage – PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire) followed by a Tender (ITT) stage. There will be a PSQ for all participants and the top 3 PSQ scoring responders, who score over 50% will be invited to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. Tenderers who are invited to the ITT stage will have their bid evaluated using a 60% Technical, 40% Commercial criteria. The highest scoring Tenderer will be awarded the contract. All Participants are required to review all tender documents for full details.
CPV: Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- every call-off is a further competition among the appointed suppliers
- Bids received
- 2 bids received · 1 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 6 yrs from 1 Dec 2026
Published description of the framework
The framework's pricing document provides a schedule of rates per shift. The service is instructed via purchase orders for the duration required.
This framework is awarded to one supplier only so there is no selection process for the instruction of services.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£7,400,000
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 (2)
- ITT Invitation To Tender: 60%
- ITT Invitation To Tender: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- ITT Invitation To Tender: Technical Envelope Technical Submission and Methodology – 53% Outline Programme – 10% Contract Organisation – 5% QHSE – 15% Social Value – 17%
- ITT Invitation To Tender: Commercial Envelope
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Rail Grinding for Network Rail (High Speed)” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: each call-off is a further competition, so the pricing contest starts after appointment.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA, CPTPP)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 30 Nov 2031
- First published
- 2 Jun 2025, 12:03 BST
- Last source update
- 20 May 2026, 09:25 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 17 Apr 2026
- Authority reference
Project_41285, pqq_3709, itt_18077- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-029108- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-052a8cFind a Tender
- How it runs
This is a single-stage tender procedure, which suppliers will be invited to following a PSQ stage – PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire) followed by a Tender (ITT) stage.
There will be a PSQ for all participants and the top 3 PSQ scoring responders, who score over 50% will be invited to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. Tenderers who are invited to the ITT stage will have their bid evaluated using a 60% Technical, 40% Commercial criteria. The highest scoring Tenderer will be awarded the contract.
All Participants are required to review all tender documents for full details.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 4 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Appointment period ends
- 4 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 27 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html ↗ and search for pqq_3709
Timeline
2 Jun 2025 → 1 Dec 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published2 Jun 2025, 12:03 BST
- Clarification questions by27 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown4 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent220 days ago17 Mar 2026
- Standstill ends209 days ago27 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected by188 days ago17 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published155 days ago20 May 2026, 09:25 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 39 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Jun 2025- Tender notice published2 Jun 2025, 12:03 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published17 Mar 2026, 16:30 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete17 Mar 2026, 16:30 GMT
- Procurement method changed17 Mar 2026, 16:30 GMT
- Contract signature expected17 Apr 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published20 May 2026, 09:25 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speno International SA1 Jan 2027 – 31 Dec 2028 · up to 31 Dec 2032Extensions: Option to extend by 4 years | £7,544,305 | 12 Mar 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Speno International SA
- Signed
- 23 Apr 2026
- Value
- £7,544,305
- Period
- 1 Jan 2027 – 31 Dec 2028 · up to 31 Dec 2032 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Option to extend by 4 years
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- did not winSalcef S.p.A.
- wonSpeno International SA
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
2 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Salcef S.p.A.Bidder / tenderer
- Speno International SAFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender