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HVAC Maintenance & Support for Class 170 and 158 Fleets

Northern Trains Limited

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

28 Oct 2026 at 16:29

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

21 May 2025 at 14:29

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northern Trains Limited intends to procure overhaul, ongoing support and maintenance for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems fitted to its legacy Class 170 and Class 158 rail fleets. The work is expected to cover inspection, servicing, repair, refurbishment and performance testing, helping keep the systems safe, comfortable and operationally reliable. Replacement components and technical support may also be required. Delivery is expected across Northern’s sites at Hull, Newton Heath in Manchester, and Neville Hill in Leeds, within its operating area in northern England. This is rail HVAC maintenance and repair work, combining specialist engineering services with potential parts supply. Northern plans to divide the procurement into two lots to reflect the different fleet types.

This is a planned procurement, and the buyer has not yet invited tenders. Northern expects to use two lots, one for each fleet type. The anticipated contract period for the described lot runs from 1 September 2027 to 31 August 2029, with a possible extension to 30 August 2031. The procurement is above the relevant threshold. Northern is undertaking pre-market engagement and seeks supplier input on mobilisation activities, likely mobilisation timescales, dependencies and risks, weekday and weekend pricing differences, and how resources could be deployed flexibly across Hull, Newton Heath and Neville Hill to provide 40 hours of service each week across the sites. Responses to the request for information are expected by 11 November 2026; this is an engagement response date, not a tender deadline.

This work is suited to suppliers with proven expertise in HVAC systems used in rail vehicles, particularly firms able to overhaul and maintain equipment across different fleet types. Relevant strengths include inspection, fault diagnosis and repair, refurbishment, performance testing, sourcing replacement components and providing technical support. Northern says it wants high-quality, reliable delivery, with the flexibility to accommodate varying maintenance schedules and fleet requirements. Suppliers should be ready to explain how they would mobilise the service, what affects mobilisation timescales, and how they would deploy and schedule staff across the three sites while maintaining coverage and operational resilience. The engagement also seeks practical information on weekday and weekend pricing differences. These questions offer rail engineering and maintenance businesses a chance to help shape the future service specification before the competition is launched.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

HVAC Maintenance & Support for Class 170 and 158 Fleets

Notice Description

Northern is intending to initiate a procurement process for the overhaul, ongoing support, and maintenance of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems installed across its legacy BR fleets. The scope of the procurement will include, but not be limited to, the inspection, servicing, repair, refurbishment, and performance testing of HVAC units to ensure continued compliance with safety, comfort, and operational standards. This may also include the supply of replacement components and technical support services. Suppliers will be expected to demonstrate proven expertise in rail HVAC systems, the ability to deliver high-quality and reliable services, and the flexibility to support varying maintenance schedules and fleet requirements. At this stage, it is anticipated that the procurement will be conducted as two lots to reflect the difference in fleet types. This notice does not constitute a call for competition but is intended to inform the market of a future opportunity, register supplier interest, and provide market information to Northern in order to support its procurement process . Interested suppliers are encouraged to monitor forthcoming publications for further details.

Planning Information

Request for Information (RFI) For this pre-market engagement exercise, interested suppliers are invited to provide information in relation to the following matters: Mobilisation Period Please outline the mobilisation activities that would be required to commence service delivery and indicate the anticipated timescales for full mobilisation. Suppliers are requested to identify any key dependencies, constraints, or risks that may impact mobilisation timelines. This question is of the highest importance to Northern at this time. Weekday and Weekend Pricing Differentials Please provide an indication of the typical cost differential between weekday and weekend service provision. Where possible, suppliers should express this as a percentage uplift and explain the principal factors influencing any variance in rates. Multi-Site Resource Flexibility Service delivery may be required across the locations of Hull BG, Newton Heath (NH), and Neville Hill (NL). Please describe how your organisation would manage resources across multiple locations to ensure appropriate service coverage (40 hours per week across sites), responsiveness, and operational resilience at each site. Responses should include details of workforce deployment, scheduling, and any arrangements that support flexibility between locations. Additional Information Suppliers are encouraged to provide any further observations, recommendations, or market insights that they believe may assist the Authority in developing an effective procurement strategy and service specification. Please submit your answers to procurement@northernrailway.co.uk by the end of Wednesday 11/11/26.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051b0c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/102278-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement 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

50 - Repair and maintenance services

CPV Codes

50220000 - Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Oct 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Sep 2027 - 1 Sep 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Northern Trains Limited
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
YORK
Postcode
YO1 6JT
Postcode Area
York
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE2 North Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE21 York
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Local Authority
York
Electoral Ward
Micklegate
Westminster Constituency
York Central

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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