Tender

Contract for West Coast Partnership Rail Services. Currently Operated by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd

DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

TenderUpdate

19 Mar 2023 at 21:05

Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Transport in the United Kingdom has published a tender for the contract for West Coast Partnership Rail Services. This contract involves providing long-distance rail services serving major cities like London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. The contract is for a duration of 10 years, with a core period of at least 4 years and optional additional periods. The procurement stage is currently at the award phase, with the latest key deadline being the extension of the current arrangements until October 15, 2023.

This rail services contract presents business growth opportunities for companies specializing in public transport services by railways. Businesses experienced in operating long-distance rail services catering to leisure, business, and commuter travel would be well-suited to compete for this tender. The contracting authority, the Department for Transport, reserves the right to grant direct awards for the contract, ensuring operational continuity and service provision quality for the coming years.

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Notice Title

Contract for West Coast Partnership Rail Services. Currently Operated by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd

Notice Description

Contract for provision of long distance rail services on the UK conventional mainline rail system. They serve the key cities of London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is envisaged the services would run between: (a) London Euston to Lichfield Trent Valley, Crewe, Preston and Glasgow Central; (b) Lichfield Trent Valley to Macclesfield and Manchester Piccadilly; (c) Crewe to Wilmslow and Manchester Piccadilly; (d) Crewe to Chester, Wrexham General and Holyhead; (e) Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street; (f) Preston to Blackpool North; (g) Carlisle to Edinburgh; (h) London Euston to Coventry, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury; (i) Wolverhampton to Stafford; and (j) Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe and Glasgow or Edinburgh There is a mixture of leisure, business and commuter travel. These services would be similar to those currently operated on the West Coast Partnership Franchise. In addition the contract may also include provisions to support the planning and preparation of services and works for HS2, for example to minimise disruption to passengers.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-03b41e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/007932-2023
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)


CPV Codes

60210000 - Public transport services by railways

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Mar 20232 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Not Specified
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
railprocurement@dft.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DR
Post Town
South West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
Vincent Square
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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        "title": "Contract for West Coast Partnership Rail Services. Currently Operated by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd",
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        "description": "Contract for provision of long distance rail services on the UK conventional mainline rail system. They serve the key cities of London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is envisaged the services would run between: (a) London Euston to Lichfield Trent Valley, Crewe, Preston and Glasgow Central; (b) Lichfield Trent Valley to Macclesfield and Manchester Piccadilly; (c) Crewe to Wilmslow and Manchester Piccadilly; (d) Crewe to Chester, Wrexham General and Holyhead; (e) Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street; (f) Preston to Blackpool North; (g) Carlisle to Edinburgh; (h) London Euston to Coventry, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury; (i) Wolverhampton to Stafford; and (j) Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe and Glasgow or Edinburgh There is a mixture of leisure, business and commuter travel. These services would be similar to those currently operated on the West Coast Partnership Franchise. In addition the contract may also include provisions to support the planning and preparation of services and works for HS2, for example to minimise disruption to passengers.",
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                            "text": "It is anticipated that the contract will have a duration in the region of 4 to 6 years in total and this is likely to include a core period of at least 4 years with an optional additional period or periods exercisable at the sole discretion of the contracting authority. The contracting authority reserves the right not to proceed with the Direct Award as envisaged or to use an alternative method to procure an operator for the contract. Without limiting that, it is currently anticipated that the grant of any Direct Award as envisaged in this notice will follow on from the completion of certain termination arrangements in respect of the extant franchise agreement entered into by the contracting authority and First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd on 28 August 2019 (the 'Franchise Agreement'). The Franchise Agreement has been substantially varied by the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement ('ERMA') entered into by the parties on 19 September 2020. Under the ERMA, First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd must have completed the termination arrangements by 14 December 2020. If those arrangements are not completed by that date, the Secretary of State may terminate the ERMA. If the ERMA is terminated, the variations to the Franchise Agreement will fall away and the parties will revert to the underlying terms of the Franchise Agreement. In those circumstances, it is currently anticipated that the Direct Award as envisaged in this notice will not be made."
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                            "text": "This notice is published as a rectification of the previous prior information notice (corrigendum) related to the West Coast Partnership Direct Award, which was published on the contracting authority's website on 7 October 2022. The precise future contractual arrangements will be different to what was envisaged in that notice. The current contractual arrangements for the West Coast Partnership are a franchise agreement entered into by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Operator on 28 August 2019, as varied by the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement entered into by the parties on 19 September 2020. The Secretary of State made a first interim direct award of a public services contract to the Operator, which took effect on 16 October 2022, and had the effect of extending the duration of the current arrangements from 16 October 2022 until 1 April 2023. On expiry of the first interim direct award, the Secretary of State is making a second interim direct award of a public services contract, which again takes the form of an extension to the duration of the current arrangements. This will extend the expiry date from 1 April 2023 to 15 October 2023. The decision by the Secretary of State to grant the second interim award (by way of an extension on the current terms) constitutes the direct award of a public service contract for the purposes of Article 5(6) of Regulation 1370/2007, being a legally binding act confirming the agreement between the Secretary of State and the Operator to entrust to the Operator the continuing management and operation of public transport services for the relevant period subject to public service obligations. It is currently envisaged that following the expiry of the second interim award, a new successor direct award will be entered into with the Operator for a duration expiring no later than 17 October 2032. The duration of the successor direct award may be made up of a core term and one or more optional periods with the option(s) exercisable by the Secretary of State. The envisaged total cumulative duration of the two interim awards (first and second) plus the successor direct award will not exceed 10 years, consistent with the position described in the previous notice (and the envisaged duration stated in II.2.7 of this notice therefore remains unchanged). The contracting authority reserves the right not to proceed with the second interim direct award and / or the successor direct award as envisaged or to use an alternative method to procure an operator."
                        },
                        "where": {
                            "section": "VI.1"
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                "description": "See also Corrigenda Notices 2021/S 065-170107, 2021/S 065-170108, 2021/S 164-432124, and 2022/S 197-561084"
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