Planning

Supply of Freight Operating Company services to Great Western Rail for Passenger Diversions, Depot Strategy and Test Trains

FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

23 Sep 2025 at 14:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

First Greater Western Limited, trading as Great Western Railway (GWR), is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process concerning the supply of Freight Operating Company services. The services sought are related to passenger diversions, depot strategy, and test trains, specifically geared towards addressing planned perturbation and strategic operations during HS2 possessions and other control period possessions. GWR is inviting interested parties to engage in a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event to inform the tender documentation development. The PME event is scheduled for 10 October 2025 at GWR headquarters in Swindon, following the deadline for expressing interest and returning a Non-Disclosure Agreement by 3 October 2025. This procurement process is particularly significant for the railway transport services industry across various regions in the United Kingdom.

This tender represents a valuable opportunity for businesses involved in railway transport services and logistics, particularly those with experience in providing shunting, driver services, and operational expertise during rail possessions. Companies with a proven track record in supporting infrastructure projects, like HS2, and possessing the capability to manage train crew and maintain competency on various routes and traction types, would be well-positioned to compete for this contract. The procurement is above threshold and involves a gross value of up to £19.2 million. Engaging in this process could lead to substantial business growth, providing services crucial to maintaining high-speed operations and fulfilling strategic rail logistics needs during significant possessions.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Supply of Freight Operating Company services to Great Western Rail for Passenger Diversions, Depot Strategy and Test Trains

Notice Description

First Greater Western Railway, trading as Great Western Railway (GWR), is issuing a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Notice to obtain market feedback in relation to an intended services for the provision of Freight Operating Company (FOC) Drivers, Person in Charge (PIC) and Shunters to support GWR in delivering passenger mitigations during planned perturbation. HS2 Possessions GWRs strategy during the construction of Old Oak Common (OOC) is to provide an alternative London terminus for its customers for any All-Line Block (ALB) greater than 12 hours and provide the same level of customer experience as that of London Paddington (PAD). For any possession that is greater than 12 hrs., GWR will implement one of its three diversionary routes, to ensure a London terminus is retained for GWR customers. With limited to no access to London North Pole (LNP) GWRs principal engineering depot via the Great Western Main Line (GWML) during OOC possessions poses a significant risk to GWR. GWR has created a Depot Strategy that allows a limited number of services on/off LNP via the West London Line (WLL) entrance/exit. Additionally, and a series of mitigations across the GWR network. During Christmas 2024 High Speed Two (HS2) possession the amount of displaced rolling stock equated to 5kms. GWR requires a FOC to provide route conducting services and where applicable driving and PIC services to deliver for its customers and to retain a high-speed service. Control Period Possessions Like HS2, there are other planned Network Rail (NR) possessions between Reading (RDG) and PAD, preventing access to PAD and LNP. There are also other possessions on the GWR network which cuts off GWR engineering depots to the rest of the network, requiring mitigations to ensure we can maintain our fleet to deliver for our customers. Scope To have a pool of trained Drivers and PICs to deliver GWR passenger diversions and GWR Depot Strategy when required. There will be a requirement to maintain competency, for Drivers and PICs on all routes, traction and locations. A variation will then be issued for each possession where there is a requirement for Depot Strategy (only applicable locations) and/or passenger diversions and for what duration. Provision of a dedicated FOC Operations Specialist to work with GWR Operations Standards department. Test Trains A FOC operator to provide test trains when required for GWR, for Depot Strategy locations, diversionary routes and other requirements as necessary to ensure GWRs plans are tested, operationally valid to deliver mitigations when required. Resource required - FOC Traincrew Driver and Guard (where necessary) and PICs. Off network Method of Work will be produced by the FOC and agreed by GWR ahead of any test trains being scheduled.

Planning Information

This Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is being conducted ahead of any potential formal procurement process and does not constitute a pre-qualification or tendering exercise. The outcomes are intended to inform business cases and the development of the tender documentation if a procurement takes place in the future. Any interested parties should follow the instructions on the portal to register interest by Friday 03 October 2025. Interested parties will be required to sign and return a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to any engagement. The NDA will ensure fair and effective competition in the preparation and conduct of the tender competition and is in the interests of achieving best value for the taxpayer. Following receipt of registered interest and a signed NDA, suppliers will be invited to attend an in-person supplier event and will be provided with initial questions relating to the multi-procurement of services. A response to these initial questions will be required prior to the supplier event. Further details on the project will be provided during the supplier event along with the procurement approach and timescales. The supplier event will take place on Friday 10 October 2025 at GWR headquarters in Swindon. The event will be limited to three (3) persons only per supplier. Following the supplier event, a set of technical and commercial questions will be provided to the registered suppliers, and a response will be requested to these within 10 working days following receipt. Further consultation may be sought with some or all interested parties using one-to-one meetings either virtually or in person. This will provide an opportunity for suppliers to ask further questions and for GWR and other involved operators to obtain input from the market on key areas to help develop specifications and the contract documents. It is anticipated that these meeting will take place Friday 10 Oct 2025. Any costs of participation in the market engagement events will be borne by the participant. Please follow the following link to Express your interest, and gain access to the Non Disclosure Agreement, which needs to be completed by 3rd of Oct 2025. http://redirect.transaxions.com/events/td0cW

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05a05c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058974-2025
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

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60200000 - Railway transport services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£16,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Sep 20255 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
7 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
17 May 2026 - 18 Sep 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
FIRST GREATER WESTERN LIMITED
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@gwr.com
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
WILTSHIRE
Postcode
SN1 1HL
Post Town
Swindon
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK71 Swindon
Delivery Location
TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England), TLL Wales
Local Authority
Swindon
Electoral Ward
Central
Westminster Constituency
Swindon South

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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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