Official UK procurement notice
Surface Tunnel Maintenance · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Transport for London (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTransport for London (TfL) is the integrated transport authority for London, responsible for delivering the Mayor's Transport Strategy and managing transport services across the Capital. TfL oversees one of the world's largest integrated urban transport networks, including London's road network and associated infrastructure. This Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) seeks to obtain market feedback in relation to the maintenance of Transport for London's surface road tunnels. Currently, these services are delivered as part of the Tunnels and Pumping Stations Contract, which was established in 2021. This MSQ relates to the proposed opportunity WS2986809626 - Surface Tunnel Maintenance and is being issued in line with TfL's public notice requirements and to support early market engagement.
Transport for London is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 10 road tunnels (plus an additional 2 tunnels on the A13 from 2030) and associated infrastructure, this includes Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) assets on the 90KM London Road Tunnel Network Traffic Control System (LTRACS) and circa 107 pump stations. The tunnel estate comprises safety-critical and operationally important assets that enable the safe and efficient movement of people and goods throughout London. Maintenance activities may encompass a broad range of tunnel infrastructure and supporting systems, including mechanical and electrical (M&E) equipment, Intelligent Transportation Systems, communications networks, and other operational and safety-related assets.
Activities currently undertaken across the tunnel estate include a combination of planned, preventative and reactive maintenance, inspection, testing, condition monitoring, fault & incident response, asset performance reporting, cleaning, lifecycle replacement of consumables and components, inventory management, and physical and cyber security considerations associated with operational systems.
This MSQ forms part of TfL's preliminary market engagement activities. It does not constitute a call for competition, invitation to tender, commitment to procure, or commitment to any particular procurement strategy, delivery model or contract structure.
CPV: Breakdown and recovery services for motor vehicles · Bridge and tunnel operation services · Highway maintenance work · Repair and maintenance services of pumps · Road traffic-control equipment · Road tunnel construction work · Traffic-signal maintenance services
How this dynamic market works
From the published notice- Type
- Dynamic market
- Market period
- 8 yrs · up to 12 yrs from 1 Apr 2029
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
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).
- “Surface Tunnel Maintenance” is a dynamic market: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Transport for London buys Engineering works and construction works (CPV 4522), and who usually turns up
Transport for London’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Engineering works and construction works (CPV 4522) →
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 Greater London.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Greater London.
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 125 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 bid3% / 1%
2–318% / 12%
4–630% / 20%
7+48% / 66%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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 4522Published estimate£180m
i
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 152 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid1%
2–310%
4–616%
7+74%
i
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
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Dynamic market
- Who may use this agreement
- Any qualifying supplier may apply while the market is open
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 May 2026, 23:22 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Oct 2026, 11:10 BST
- Authority reference
WS2986809626- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095091- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069987Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Admission period ends
- —
Timeline
14 May 2026 → 1 Apr 2029 · 5 dates- Planning notice published159 days ago14 May 2026, 23:22 BST
- Latest notice published13 days ago8 Oct 2026, 11:10 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 10 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
TfL intends to issue a Market Sounding Questionnaire to assess market interest and ensure alignment with current industry capabilities and trends. The questionnaire is expected to be launched from 12 October and remain open for a minimum period of three weeks.
For further information, or to express an interest in participating in the Market Sounding Questionnaire, please contact:
Commercial Manager - Road Surface Tunnels
- Tender notice expectedin 132 days1 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Apr 2029
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 14 May 2026- Pipeline notice published14 May 2026, 23:22 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 Oct 2026, 11:10 BSTUK2
- Published value published: £180,000,0008 Oct 2026, 11:10 BST
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 (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender