Tenderline / Tenders / Technical feasibility of constructing a new rail…
Official UK procurement notice
Technical feasibility of constructing a new railway between Launceston and Bodmin, Cornwall
Authority: Launceston Town Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionEXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Launceston Town Council, has secured grant funding from Cornwall Council, and is seeking Expressions of Interest from suitably experienced and qualified consultants to undertake a study into the technical feasibility of constructing a new railway between Launceston and Bodmin, as part of a long-term strategic review of rail transport in Cornwall.
The council is electing to use a 'restricted' method for shortlisting suitable consultants who can demonstrate appropriate experience of outline strategic planning in the rail sector. This two-stage process allows suppliers to express an interest by going through an initial pre-qualification stage. Only selected suppliers will be asked to complete the full tender document. Potential suppliers are encouraged to read the attached Consultants' Brief, which describes the study, its background and the required output.
CPV: Railway transport services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1Published value£50,000
- Value
- £50,000 exc. VAT · £60,000 inc. VAT
What it takes to win
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published — the tender pack may add moreThe consultant must demonstrate relevant knowledge and experience including: *Design of railway route alignments and profiles, for both passenger and freight *Strategic evaluation of transport corridors *Evaluation of alternative options (optioneering) *An understanding of the concept described in the Brief, including its aims and objectives *Some experience of preparing Strategic Outline Business Cases (SOBCs) for railway projects (preferred but not essential) *Working with local government (preferred but not essential) Launceston Town Council will evaluate the Expression of Interest submissions received, shortlist qualifying suppliers, and invite them to tender for the project. Registration of interest does not imply inclusion on the tender shortlist. See page 2 in the attached submission document for full timeline details. EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Interested suppliers are asked to submit Expressions of Interest, referring to the selection criteria below and to include (Max 1000 words/2 sides of A4): *Brief details of any similar studies undertaken by the consultant *The name and brief résumé of the lead consultant who will undertake the study *An outline of the proposed methodology, including proposed use of IT and AI *An outline of the anticipated output and its presentation And: *A completed business questionnaire and declaration on pages 3 - 4 of the submission document. Selection Criteria: The expressions of interest will be scored against the following criteria: *Proven experience - technical evaluation of transport corridors and railway alignments *Intended approach to the study - understanding of the strategic intent *Experience as Lead Consultant *Proposed methodology and resultant output *Availability to complete the study by 31 March 2027 *Business Questionnaire
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
Railway transport services (CPV 6020) in North East England — and who usually turns up
Launceston Town Council has too little published record in this market to describe on its own; the North East England market stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: sector page →
How the contest usually goes
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards report one bid by definition and are left out. Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
North East England · Railway transport services (CPV 6020)
contract notices delivered in North East England in 36 months: 7 in CPV 6020 (5 contested) · 94 in division 60 (81 contested)
robust · n=101 Awards in North East England (division 60, n=101 pairs) land a median at estimate: on this notice’s £50,000 that is about £50,000, middle half £48,350–£52,250 (quartiles from North East England · division 60). Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Method and what to read with care
- Two columns, no blending. The authority column walks its own record only: notices in the 4-digit class, then the 2-digit division, then all categories (36 months, per lot, contested only), and as a last resort its 24-month row across all categories (per notice, every route). The market column is the notice’s primary delivery ITL1 × the same class, then division (36 months). Nothing is filled from the UK-wide class; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable.
- Per lot, contested only. Find a Tender publishes bid counts per lot; a seven-lot tender is seven contests. Procedures awarded without competition (limited / direct) are excluded from bids, price pairs and decision days — they report one bid by definition. Frameworks and DPS are a separate population from contracts (6–7 bids per lot against 2–4) and only the notice’s own kind is shown.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). Award-vs-estimate pairs need a lot estimate, one active award on the lot, one canonical supplier and a gap under 60 %; about 30 % of pairs are exact matches (the buyer published the award at the estimate). n is on every figure; below 3 the tile is muted, never hidden.
- Pounds. The expected award applies the authority’s median movement (or the region’s, when the authority has fewer than 3 pairs) to this notice’s estimate; the middle half uses the region’s quartiles. A multi-lot notice publishes an envelope, so the movement is applied per lot, never to the total. A benchmark, not a recommended price.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 18 Sept 2026, 15:12 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Sept 2026, 15:12 BST
- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0775a6Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Expression of interest (EOI)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 9 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
Timeline
4 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice publishedearlier today18 Sept 2026, 15:12 BST
- Clarification questions byin 14 days2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadlinein 21 days9 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 54 days12 Nov 2026, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published18 Sept 2026, 15:12 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications PDF Version - This is the submission document for Expressions of Interest. It gives details how the EOI should be submitted and how submissions will be assessed. It contains a project timeline and the business and legal questionnaire.
- Bidding documents and specifications Prospective tenderers are recommended to read this this document as it contextualises the project, as well as identifying technical details and assumptions.
- Bidding documents and specifications Word Version - This is the submission document for Expressions of Interest. It gives details how the EOI should be submitted and how submissions will be assessed. It contains a project timeline and the business and legal questionnaire.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender