Planning

Metro and Rail Works Pipeline

WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

23 Dec 2025 at 09:40

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

23 Dec 2025 at 09:02

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

22 Dec 2025 at 14:53

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The West Midlands Combined Authority is currently in the planning stage for a significant public procurement initiative titled "Metro and Rail Works Pipeline," aimed at expanding transportation infrastructure within the region. This project categorises under the works industry, focusing on railway and cable transport systems. A key milestone in the procurement process is a market engagement event scheduled for 16 February 2026 at The Station, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham. Interested suppliers are encouraged to attend to gain insights into the contracting approaches for the Metro and Rail pipeline, which has an envisioned completion date extending to 2032. The estimated value of the scope is over £1 billion and involves a phased delivery approach. Early contract engagement is targeted for early to mid-2027.

This procurement process presents substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in construction, civil engineering, and metro system integration. With an open call for participation from main contractors, lead design consultancies, multi-disciplinary engineering firms, joint ventures, systems integrators, and specialist subcontractors, this tender is particularly beneficial to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) experienced in rail, tramway, or urban infrastructure projects. By engaging in this competitive process, businesses can access long-term projects with high-value contracts, fostering opportunities for growth and expansion in the UK's public infrastructure sector.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Metro and Rail Works Pipeline

Notice Description

Scope Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is engaging with the supply chain to explore progressive and collaborative contracting approaches for its potential Metro and Rail pipeline up to 2032. Birmingham Sports Quarter (BSQ) Metro Extension - 1.5km extension from Digbeth (Birmingham Eastside) to the new Powerhouse Stadium for Birmingham City FC and the Sports Quarter. Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Extension Phase 2C (WBHE) Extension - Final 0.5km completion into Brierley Hill town centre. East Birmingham and North Solihull (EBS) Metro Extension - Preliminary feasibility and TWAO consent for a future route between Sports Quarter and HS2 Interchange/Arden Cross. Metro Renewals Programme - Renewal of key Metro assets including track, Overhead Line, structures, civils and systems. Rail Programme - Potential for value in bringing additional rail projects to redevelop existing stations, including as part of the Sports Quarter wider transport programme. Combined estimated scope value of up to circa PS1Bn+ across design, construction and associated multi-disciplinary services across a seven-year period. Engagement Objectives We want to talk to the market to explore the best delivery model(s) that will enhance delivery certainty and provide quicker routes to market for delivery of major transport infrastructure across a phased programme up to 2032. This will help us refine our contracting, procurement and delivery strategy ahead of formal tender activity in 2026. We want to be in contract early to mid-2027 on the first tranche of the programme. We want engagement to be two-way. This is the opportunity for suppliers to meet the team, understand the projects and talk about what great delivery looks like. Please be prepared to engage. We will use market stalls, live polling and facilitated thematic breakout sessions for suppliers to talk to us about their perspectives, expertise, experience in delivery of major transport projects on-time and budget. We also want to talk about the market's appetite and track record in pivoting to progressive contracting approaches that are more enterprising, more integrated and more collaborative. We want to talk about how these can work alongside ECI and NEC contracting environments. But we also don't want to discount more innovative uses of traditional contracting approaches. Within this context, we also want to understand if and how existing frameworks could be used or supplemented to more quickly deliver large, multi-disciplinary programmes in a phased and packaged manner. Event Details Date: Monday 16 February 2026 Time: 09:00 - 12:45 Location: The Station, Millenium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG Agenda 09:00 - 09:15 | Registration & Refreshments 09:15 - 10:00 | The Opportunity - Introductions, Context and Pipeline 10:00 - 10:30 | Emerging thinking - Contracting, Commercial and Procurement (with Q&A / live polling) 10:30 - 11:30 | Group Session - Thematic Breakout (including break) 11:30 - 12:15 | Project 'Market Stalls' - Meet the team / gain greater depth 12:15 - 12:45 | Wrap up - Further Q&A and Next Steps Who Should Attend This engagement is open to: * Main contractors, construction and civils specialists * Lead design consultancies and multi-disciplinary engineering firms * Joint ventures and consortia partners * Systems integrators (metro controls, signalling, traction power, comms) * Specialist subcontractors and suppliers * SMEs with relevant rail, tramway or urban infrastructure experience A maximum of two representatives per organisation are welcome. Attendance is free, and there is no formal application; however, advance notification is requested to support logistics and material distribution. Please follow the below link to register interest in attending. assets-gbr.mkt.dynamics.com/a3b85b0d-c453-4680-af2a-330420e03125/digitalassets/standaloneforms/ac0a4a44-29dc-f011-8544-6045bdd0af44?readableEventId=Transport_for_West_Midlands_Future_Metro_and_Rail_Procurement_Supplier_Engagement_Day3123990078 Follow-up Based upon attendance and contents of the engagement session, participants will be invited to consider and provide more formal feedback (maximum 2,000 words) by 27 February 2026. This will build on the discourse of the day, but should focus on some of the following topics; Commercial Model o Opportunities for phased delivery to bring forward quickly more pressing major projects (potentially contract entry in 2027 for ECI/detailed design) whilst incorporating later stage projects without the need for further procurement o Benefits and application of 'Project 13' outcome-based commercial and contractual models, including enterprise and integrator-led approaches versus traditional approaches with real-world examples o Market capacity and capability to adopt FAC-1 / Project 13 approaches on light rail or complex urban infrastructure schemes and within an NEC environment. What works/doesn't work well o Opportunities for more innovative use of traditional construction contracts o Risk and reward alignment with shared risk, pain/gain and performance incentives o Structuring ECI to support optioneering, buildability, cost assurance and innovation while maintaining procurement compliance and competitive tension o Lessons Learned from comparable UK projects, including what has worked well, common pitfalls, and conditions for success when using collaborative or alliance-based contracts o How contracting models could be formed across the pipeline to cover front-end development through to back-end delivery, including optioneering through design and into construction and operations Delivery & Capability o Realistic design, planning consent and construction lead times for tramway extensions o Experience, risk, opportunities in third party delivery versus delivery led by infrastructure owners/operators o Supply chain constraints and capability to deliver large multi-million pound projects as a portfolio of rail, renewals and metro without long term procurement horizons o Approach to packaging in terms of size (single integrated lot vs. multiple separated lots), disciplines and minimum/maximum bidding thresholds. Potential application of packaging and phasing within an existing framework environment o Appetite to bid as main contractor, lead designer, JV partner or specialist subcontractor o Differing approaches for system integration o Best approaches for operator engagement and asset management Market Appetite o Conditions that would increase or reduce participation in future tendering o Benefits of bringing in the rail programme (focussed around station redevelopment and construction) and creating a portfolio pipeline in terms of speed, efficiency, economies of scale versus market appetite, capacity and risk o Feedback on procurement process design (competitive procedure preferred, data room content, bid cost management) o Views on how to maintain competition, proportionate bid costs whilst increasing speed Following this engagement day, TfWM may undertake 1:1 clarification sessions with interested parties to explore specific procurement or technical models in greater depth. Refinement of procurement strategy based on market intelligence, to be adopted before formal tender notice in summer 2026. Remarks * This is a soft market engagement exercise * All engagement is conducted on a non-binding, without prejudice information-gathering basis * Participation in this engagement does not confer any preferential treatment in future procurement * No tender opportunity is currently live, and no binding commitments result from attendance * We have not yet selected a preferred delivery or contracting model. Views expressed through this engagement will directly inform the options taken forward * Any material information relevant to a future procurement will be shared openly with the market through formal channels * All information shared during the engagement will be high-level and non-confidential. This will include anonymised summaries of informal engagement at 'Market Stalls', breakout sessions and any subsequent 1:1 clarification sessions with suppliers

Planning Information

Market Engagement Event Details Date: Monday 16 February 2026 Time: 09:00 - 12:45 Location: The Station, Millenium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG A maximum of two representatives per organisation are welcome. Attendance is free, and there is no formal application; however, advance notification is requested to support logistics and material distribution. Please follow the below link to register interest in attending: assets-gbr.mkt.dynamics.com/a3b85b0d-c453-4680-af2a-330420e03125/digitalassets/standaloneforms/ac0a4a44-29dc-f011-8544-6045bdd0af44?readableEventId=Transport_for_West_Midlands_Future_Metro_and_Rail_Procurement_Supplier_Engagement_Day3123990078 Based upon attendance and contents of the engagement session, participants will be invited to consider and provide more formal feedback (maximum 2,000 words) by 27 February 2026

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05fbb6
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085663-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Works
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

45 - Construction work

CPV Codes

45234000 - Construction work for railways and cable transport systems

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Dec 20256 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
16 Feb 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2027 - 30 Jun 2032 Over 5 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
WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement.team@wmca.org.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B19 3SD
Post Town
Birmingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG31 Birmingham
Delivery Location
TLG West Midlands (England)
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Newtown
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Ladywood

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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What works/doesn't work well o Opportunities for more innovative use of traditional construction contracts o Risk and reward alignment with shared risk, pain/gain and performance incentives o Structuring ECI to support optioneering, buildability, cost assurance and innovation while maintaining procurement compliance and competitive tension o Lessons Learned from comparable UK projects, including what has worked well, common pitfalls, and conditions for success when using collaborative or alliance-based contracts o How contracting models could be formed across the pipeline to cover front-end development through to back-end delivery, including optioneering through design and into construction and operations Delivery & Capability o Realistic design, planning consent and construction lead times for tramway extensions o Experience, risk, opportunities in third party delivery versus delivery led by infrastructure owners/operators o Supply chain constraints and capability to deliver large multi-million pound projects as a portfolio of rail, renewals and metro without long term procurement horizons o Approach to packaging in terms of size (single integrated lot vs. multiple separated lots), disciplines and minimum/maximum bidding thresholds. 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