Official UK procurement notice
Supply of Steel Rail and Ancillary Services
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought8 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Supply of Steel Rail and ancillary services to Network Rail (NR) for a period of up to 8 years. The scope for supply of steel rail within this notice includes the potential to include all of Network Rail and its subsidiaries, including but not limited to Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd and Network Rail High Speed and also to those organisations covered by our external business framework including Transport for Wales and as an occasional joint procurement with HS2 Ltd.
The value of each lot awarded over an eight year duration is estimated to be as follows:
Lot 2a £229.2m
Lot 2b £128.2m
Lot 3 £107.7m
Lot 4 £40.7m
Lot 5 £23.0m
Lot 6 £40.1m
The direct award contract to British Steel Ltd for Lot 1 is covered by a separate award notice.
- Recurrence: 60 months
CPV: Rails · Railway-track construction materials and supplies
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 21 suppliers · 4 bids received (0.2 per place) · 4 appointed
- Electronic auction
Network Rail reserves the right to use electronic reverse auctions for the purposes of mini-competitions if necessary. Full details will be provided in advance of electronic reverse auctions being used.
Lots and requirements (8)Procurement structure
8 lots · 6 with a published value · win at most 6 of them · evaluation weights differ by lotLot #1Steel Rail - NorthPlannedLot estimate not published
Supply of Steel Rail
Lot #2Potential Lot 2 - Steel Rail - SouthPlannedLot estimate not published
Supply of Steel Rail
Lot #3Short Running Rail Package and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£151,404,000
Network Rail have appointed 4 Suppliers to a framework. The Supplier shall provide rail in lengths up to 44m in both 56E1 and 60E2 profiles and in both R260 grade and Premium grades.
Lot #4Conductor Rail Package and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£61,380,000
Network Rail has appointed 2 Suppliers to a framework to supply conductor rail. The Supplier shall provide Conductor Rail in lengths of either 18.288m or 91.44m.
Lot #5Switch Rail Package and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£34,782,000
Network Rail has appointed two suppliers to a framework to supply switch rail. The Supplier shall provide rail in lengths up to 36m. All profiles shall be provided in both R260 grade and Premium grades.
Lot #6Bullhead Rail Package and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£81,840,000
Network Rail has appointed 2 Suppliers to a framework. The Supplier shall provide
Bullhead Rail 95 RBH in lengths of 18.288m.
Lot #7Long and Short Rail Package and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£199,485,000
Network Rail has appointed 1 Supplier. Long Rail/Short Rail Package and Ancillary Services. The Supplier shall provide rail in 108m or
216m rail lengths in 56E1 and 60E2 profiles and in both R260 grade and Premium grades. The Supplier shall provide the above with corrosion resistant coating as requested by Network Rail. Short Rail - The Supplier shall provide rail in lengths up to 36m in both 56E1 and 60E2 profiles and in both R260 grade and Premium grades. Additional information: Network Rail reserves the right to increase the value/volume advertised of this lot within the realms of permitted modification rules including in the case of insolvency of the supplier made by direct award under Lot 1.
Lot #8Long, Short Rail and Ancillary ServicesCancelledRenewalPublished value£119,691,000
Network Rail has appointed 3 Suppliers to a framework. The Supplier shall provide rail in 108m or 216m rail lengths in 56E1 and 60E2 profiles and in both R260 grade and Premium grades. The Supplier shall provide the above with corrosion resistant coating as requested by Network Rail. Additional information: Network Rail reserves the ability to increase the value/volume advertised of this lot but only in the case of insolvency of the supplier awarded Lot 1.
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).
Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.
- Suitability
Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
- Legal form for consortia
- Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Shortlisting
- Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
- Price carries 40–60 points depending on the lot; most lots put it at 60 points.
- “Supply of Steel Rail and Ancillary Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 21 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0025 Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (Directive 2014/25/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- 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)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · 60 months
- First published
- 9 Dec 2021, 22:44 GMT
- Last source update
- 10 Jul 2025, 14:25 BST
- Authority reference
28680- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-038983- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02ff89Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
Publisher note: The scope for supply of steel rail within this notice includes the potential to include all of Network Rail and its subsidiaries, including but not limited to Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd and Network Rail High Speed and also to those organisations covered by our external business framework including Transport for Wales and as an occasional joint procurement with HS2 Ltd. Network Rail intends to make a direct award of Lot 1, economic operators are referred to the VEAT notice published. Network Rail reserves the right to flex volume commitments and related advertised value ranges between lots covered by this notice and the Veat Notice for Lot 1 in the circumstance described in the documentation at Schedule 11 Financial Difficulties.
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: http://www.networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk ↗
- Appointment period ends
- 7 Aug 2023, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Deposits and guarantees
- Please refer to the procurement documentation for further information.
Timeline
28 Jul 2022 → 10 Jul 2025 · 5 dates- Next notice expected28 Jul 2022, 00:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown7 Aug 2023, 12:00 BST
- Invitations to tender expected6 Nov 2023
- Bids must remain valid until31 Oct 2024, 23:59 GMT
- Notice published10 Jul 2025, 14:25 BST
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Jun 2023- Published value updated to £648,582,00028 Jun 2023, 14:51 BSTwas £1,243,000,000
- Status changed to active28 Jun 2023, 14:51 BST
- Procurement method changed28 Jun 2023, 14:51 BST
- Deadline published: 7 Aug 2023, 12:00 BST28 Jun 2023, 14:51 BST
- Buyer details updated28 Jun 2023, 14:51 BST
- Status changed to complete10 Jul 2025, 14:25 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast5 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
All 4 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £1, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Supply of Steel Rail and Ancillary Services
- Signed
- 17 Jun 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
Supply of Steel Rail and Ancillary Services
- Signed
- 11 Apr 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
Supply of Rail and Ancillary Services
- Signed
- 11 Apr 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
Supply of Steel Rail and Ancillary Services
- Signed
- 11 Apr 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Status
- active
Supply of Rail and Ancillary Services
- Signed
- 11 Apr 2025
- Value
- —
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeDispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
5 commercial parties on the notice- Arcelormittal Espana SAFramework contractor
- British Steel LimitedFramework contractor
- Saarstahl Rail SASFramework contractor
- Saarstahl Rail SASFramework contractor
- Voestalpine Rail Technology GMBHFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria