Official UK procurement notice
Railhead Adhesion · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Transport for London (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTransport for London's Open Innovation Team works with market innovators of all sizes to help solve some of the challenges that TfL faces where there is a need for more innovative solutions. Rather than prescribing solutions, we instead look to the market for creative, resourceful and novel approaches to problem solving to create new value for TfL by doing things better, quicker or cheaper.
Transport for London (TfL) relies on adhesion management to maintain a safe, reliable, and high-frequency railway system while preserving asset health. Both high and low friction levels at the wheel-rail interface can cause safety issues like delays, derailments, and asset damage. To address these, TfL uses various operational, procedural, and technical solutions.
During autumnal months, outdoor sections of the network (55% of the London Underground) face low adhesion due to fallen leaves mixing with iron oxides on rails. This can lead to delays, cancellations, wheel flats, and even collisions or derailments. TfL's current solutions include vegetation management, rail adhesion trains, Traction Gel Applicators, seasonal timetables, and reduced brake rates.
Any new solution must consider the diverse infrastructure of TfL's network, which includes a mix of above-ground and underground stations with varying platform dimensions and designs. The network also features different rolling stock and signalling systems, some automated and others manually driven. Service intervals range from 22 to 36 trains per hour. Any proposed solution should ensure safety across these varied conditions without compromising service frequency or asset longevity.
Problem statement:
How might we target railhead contamination such that we retain optimal (or as near as feasible) levels of friction on the railhead; allowing us to run a high-frequency service year-round regardless of the weather?
CPV: Miscellaneous transport equipment and spare parts · Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts · Railway transport services · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1TfL wishes to engage the market to seek feedback on emerging approaches and solutions…Planned
TfL wishes to engage the market to seek feedback on emerging approaches and solutions for rail adhesion management.
Interested respondents are required to email [email protected] to request the Rail Adhesion - Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) for completion by 12:00 (midday) on Monday 23 September 2024 in order to receive the MSQ.
This is a pre-procurement activity and does not imply any commitment to any future procurement process. The purpose is to seek feedback on TfL's approach, appetite from industry and information on alternative solutions that are being developed in the marketplace for similar schemes. Participation in the PIN and subsequent MSQ is not a prerequisite to, and will not prejudice, participation in any future competitive process. The information contained in this PIN or in any communication made between TfL and any supplier in connection with this should not be relied upon as constituting a contract, agreement, or representation that any contract will be offered as a result of this PIN and MSQ. If TfL decides to progress with any procurement exercise , TfL will publish a separate contract notice. Additional information: This is a pre-procurement activity and does not imply any commitment to any future procurement process. The purpose is to seek feedback on TfL's approach, appetite from industry and information on alternative solutions that are being developed in the marketplace for similar schemes. Participation in the PIN and subsequent MSQ is not a prerequisite to, and will not prejudice, participation in any future competitive process. The information contained in this PIN or in any communication made between TfL and any supplier in connection with this should not be relied upon as constituting a contract, agreement, or representation that any contract will be offered as a result of this PIN and MSQ. If TfL decides to progress with any procurement exercise , TfL will publish a separate contract notice.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Past planning notice
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Aug 2024, 13:26 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Oct 2024, 10:21 BST
- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-031644- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0489e0Find a Tender
Publisher note: This is a pre-procurement activity and does not imply any commitment to any future procurement process. The purpose is to seek feedback on TfL's approach, appetite from industry and information on alternative solutions that are being developed in the marketplace for similar schemes. Participation in the PIN and subsequent MSQ is not a prerequisite to, and will not prejudice, participation in any future competitive process. The information contained in this PIN or in any communication made between TfL and any supplier in connection with this should not be relied upon as constituting a contract, agreement, or representation that any contract will be offered as a result of this PIN and MSQ. If TfL decides to progress with any procurement exercise , TfL will publish a separate contract notice.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
3 Oct 2024 → 12 Aug 2025 · 2 dates- Notice published3 Oct 2024, 10:21 BST
- Tender notice expected12 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 releases on Find a TenderPublished amendments (2 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DateVI | — | 3 Oct 2024 | |
| — | DateII.1.2 | 3 Oct 2024 | 4 Oct 2024 | +1 d |
2 amendments published without a description.
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
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.