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Ticket Retailing & Validation Solutions

Northern Trains Limited

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

28 Aug 2026 at 16:43

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

05 Mar 2026 at 16:54

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

28 Nov 2025 at 16:05

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

09 Sep 2025 at 09:24

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northern Trains Limited procured a technology service to replace its ticket retailing and validation solution across the United Kingdom. The requirement covers on-train and ticket-office systems, including ticket issuing, ticket inspection and validation, retailing options, customer payment types, travel options and fare types, and end-of-shift accounting. It also covers support for ITSO PAYG smartcards and TfGM cEMV PAYG capability, with the solution supporting Northern’s dependency on the PAYG programme for EMV payments. Suppliers were required to provide a complete ticket-issuing system for all devices, describe the system architecture, and meet Rail Delivery Group accreditation and compliance requirements. Maintenance and repair of ticket-issuing and ticket-validation machinery were also included.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a single lot using an open procedure. Three valid bids were received, two from SMEs. Worldline IT Services UK Limited was awarded the contract on 5 March 2026 for £29,167,795 excluding VAT (£35,001,354 including VAT). The signed contract is active, runs from 28 May 2026 to 27 May 2032, and may be extended by up to five years, in staged three-year and two-year options, to 27 May 2037. The original tender deadline was 12 January 2026 at 12:00, with the award decision due by 4 March 2026. Evaluation weighted quality at 45%, commercial terms at 45% and social value at 10%.

This award indicates demand for suppliers able to deliver and support end-to-end rail ticketing technology rather than isolated ticket machines. A credible future competitor would need a complete ticket-issuing system across on-train and ticket-office devices, ticket validation and inspection functions, broad retailing and fare options, customer payment acceptance, and reliable end-of-shift accounting. Experience with ITSO PAYG smartcards, TfGM cEMV PAYG and EMV payment programmes would be important, alongside the ability to meet Rail Delivery Group accreditation and compliance requirements. Suppliers would also need to demonstrate robust system architecture, implementation capability and long-term maintenance of issuing and validation equipment. Service reliability is central: the contract measures Priority 1 incidents and onboard and station service performance against a 99.5% service level agreement.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Ticket Retailing & Validation Solutions

Notice Description

Northern Trains Limited has a requirement to replace its existing Ticket Retailing & Validation solution by December 2026 due to the incumbent supplier's withdrawal from the UK rail ticketing market. Northern are therefore looking to engage the supply market to understand the solutions available. Northern Trains Limited Invitation to Tender is for the provision of a technology solution that satisfies two main outcomes for Northern: *Suitable replacement of the on-train and ticket office solution to maintain and safeguard ticket retailing and validation provision *Deliver on NTL's dependency into the PAYG programme for EMV A successfully delivered solution must meet 11 significant requirements: 1)Complete Ticket Issuing System (TIS) for All Devices 2)Architecture Description of All Components 3)Full Range of Retailing Options Available Day One 4)RDG Accreditation and Compliance 5)Adherence to Project Delivery Timelines 6)Customer Payment Type Acceptance 7)Support for ITSO PAYG Smartcards 8)TfGM cEMV PAYG Capability 9)Customer Travel Options and Fare Types 10)End-of-Shift Accounting Functionality 11)Ticket Inspection and Validation Functionality

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The minimum term is six (6) years, with the option to extend for a further five (5) years, split into a three (3) year option followed by a two (2) year option, up to a total maximum duration of eleven (11) years.

Planning Information

Northern would like to invite any suppliers who substantially meet the system detailed to register their interest to attend a briefing call hosted by the Project Team & Procurement Manager to explain the requirements in more detail. The briefing call will be hosted on Teams on 19/09/2025 11.30am - 12.30pm for all suppliers to attend. The session will consist of the project team giving an overview of Northern's technical requirements in further detail followed by a Q&A sessions for interested Suppliers to field any initial questions or clarifications. If you are interested in partaking in this briefing call please send an expression of interest to Alex Ashman (alexander.ashman@northernrailway.co.uk) along with a summary of the system capabilities (i.e Product fact sheet).

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059648
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082358-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages

50 - Repair and maintenance services

CPV Codes

30123100 - Ticket-validation machines

30144200 - Ticket-issuing machines

50316000 - Maintenance and repair of ticket-issuing machinery

50317000 - Maintenance and repair of ticket-validation machinery

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£30,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£30,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£29,167,795 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
£29,167,795 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
12 Jan 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
19 Sep 2025Expired
Award Date
5 Mar 20266 months ago
Contract Period
28 May 2026 - 27 May 2032 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

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
Not specified
Local Authority
York
Electoral Ward
Micklegate
Westminster Constituency
York Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

WORLDLINE IT SERVICES UK LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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