Planning

Provision of Revenue Management System for Rail

DFT OPERATOR LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

23 Oct 2025 at 15:47

Summary of the contracting process

DFT OPERATOR LIMITED, located in London, is undertaking a procurement process for a new Revenue Management System (RMS) for rail, with the involvement of LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY LIMITED, NORTHERN TRAINS LIMITED, TRANSPENNINE TRAINS LIMITED, and SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED serving as procuring entities. Categorised under services, specifically IT services, this contract is currently in the planning stage. Interested suppliers are invited to participate in preliminary market engagement activities to help formulate the procurement strategy. An in-person presentation will be held on 18th November 2025, at The Memoir Club, London. Suppliers must express interest by 7th November 2025. The engagement is designed to be transparent, with insights shared amongst all participating suppliers. The contract is planned to run from 1st June 2026 to 31st May 2031.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in IT consulting, software development, and support, particularly those with expertise in railway revenue management systems. The focus on flexible business rules, AI-generated recommendations, and integration with multiple data sources indicates a preference for innovative IT solutions providers. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with niche solutions and experience in the rail industry can leverage this engagement to broaden their impact, especially if they offer advanced machine learning capabilities and user-friendly interfaces. This procurement is positioned to enhance the capability of participating suppliers to influence the future of rail revenue management in the UK.

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Notice Title

Provision of Revenue Management System for Rail

Notice Description

DFTO and contributing Train Operating Companies (TOC's) are conducting preliminary market engagement to inform the development of our procurement strategy for a forthcoming Revenue Management System Retender. The anticipated high-level requirements are as follows however are subject to change following premarket engagement: * Flexible Business Rules. * AI generated recommendations. * Integration with various data sources in optimisation. * Support future timetable and fares pilot changes. * Support a 12-month booking horizon. * Intuitive User Interface * Instant updates to / from RARS. * Past travel date data in the UI for limited time. * Events input and accurate recommendations. * Group travel team self-manage quotes. * Influence optimisation with in-house machine learning team. * Revenue Manage additional products and fares. * Ability to experiment and test changes within the system Publication of this notice does not bind DFTO or subsidiaries to any guarantee and it is possible that no tender will result from this Pre-Market Engagement exercise. The requirements, contract duration, start and end dates detailed within this notice are subject to amendment following Pre Market Engagement and confirmation of the route to market.

Planning Information

1. Purpose of Engagement DFTO and contributing Train Operating Companies (TOC's) are conducting preliminary market engagement to inform the development of our procurement strategy for a forthcoming Revenue Management System Retender. This engagement aims to: • Inform suppliers of the high-level requirements and receive feedback on the feasibility of them. • Explain to suppliers the concept of the Project and how it aligns to strategic objectives of future GBR. • Shape supplier's expectations of how future tenders of this scale will be delivered. • Understand beyond the known suppliers who else could provide a Rail RMS. • Help to develop the Procurement Strategy for the future tender. • Promote transparency and attract a diverse supplier base. ________________________________________ 2. Format of Engagement The engagement will take place via: • In-person presentation: • Location: The Memoir Club, 12 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0HX • Time / Date: 18 November 2025, 1000 - 1500. If required, DFTO may conduct follow up 1-1 meetings with parties who have expressed an interest prior to 7th of November. These meetings shall be held after the in-person presentation has taken place. The purpose of these shall be to capture any information not discussed during the workshop or to allow interested suppliers who couldn't attend the in-person workshop to discuss our requirements. Key information and outcomes following the Pre-Markets Engagement will be communicated to all parties who have expressed an interest in the engagement. This shall include the material questions and answers asked within the presentation session. ________________________________________ 3. Supplier Participation Interested suppliers are invited to express interest by 7 November 2025 via email to the Scott.Gordon@LNER.co.uk and Holly.Peters@dftoperator.co.uk . Please include: • Company Name • Contact Details of all attending including email address (Max 3x Personnel per Supplier) • Brief overview of relevant experience • Any specific areas of interest or questions If expressions of interest exceed capacity, selection will be based on relevance to scope and sector expertise, and representation across supplier types (including SMEs). All insights from the engagement will be shared equally with all potential bidders to ensure fairness and transparency. ________________________________________ 4. Supplier Questionnaire A short administrative questionnaire is included at the below link for suppliers to complete. The completion of the questionnaire alongside the email outlined in section 3 is the formal acknowledgement of attendance at the Pre-Markets Engagement Day. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=e1y4hXsF4ESUCwNWEB2p1X1v1ReixH9MsncEOnzxgFdURFJLMkhWRjZKNjhFTkhaSzkzU0YyRk9MRi4u ________________________________________ 5. Communication All shared materials, insights, and any material questions and answers throughout this process will be documented and made available to ensure that no supplier gains an unfair advantage. Supplier points of contacts are to ensure the email addresses of all those personnel who require access to documents are included in the supplier questionnaire. Any Project related questions should be directed to the Project team and not the associated Business Owners from each TOC.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d2d2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067965-2025
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

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support


CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Oct 20254 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
7 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 May 2026 - 31 May 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DFT OPERATOR LIMITED
Additional Buyers

LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY LIMITED

NORTHERN TRAINS LIMITED

SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED

TRANSPENNINE TRAINS LIMITED

Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement.services@tpexpress.co.uk, procurement@dftoperator.co.uk, procurement@lner.co.uk, procurement@northernrailway.co.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8SW
Post Town
South East London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI44 Lewisham and Southwark
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Southwark
Electoral Ward
Borough & Bankside
Westminster Constituency
Bermondsey and Old Southwark

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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