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Carriage Hire Agreement for 5 No. Mk2e BUO Coaches

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

03 Aug 2026 at 08:18

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

07 Jul 2026 at 15:52

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

08 May 2026 at 09:21

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Network Rail Infrastructure Limited procured the continued hire of five Mk2E BUO railway coaches for its infrastructure monitoring fleet. The carriages are used in Infrastructure Monitoring Train operations to identify preventative maintenance requirements that support the safe running of the railway. The requirement includes retaining the existing vehicle set, which has undergone significant bespoke modification for compatibility with Network Rail’s operations, and allowing further modifications to improve its suitability. The service is delivered for railway operations in the United Kingdom. This is a specialist rail transport and rolling-stock hire requirement rather than a general passenger transport service, and is likely to suit organisations with access to suitable coaches and the capability to support modified rail vehicles in operational use.

The procurement is complete and was awarded by direct award to Eastern Rail Services Limited, an SME. The award date was 24 June 2026, and the contract was signed on 31 July 2026. The awarded and contracted value is £2,209,700.02 excluding VAT, or £2,651,640.03 including VAT. The contract runs from 31 July 2026 to 31 March 2028, with a maximum end date of 31 March 2029. It can be renewed through two six-month extensions, subject to the fleet’s continuing need for the vehicles. There was one lot, marked suitable for SMEs and VCSEs. Network Rail used a direct award because changing supplier would create interoperability problems, disproportionate modification costs and technical disruption to critical monitoring operations.

This award demonstrates demand for specialist rolling-stock hire that can support infrastructure monitoring rather than standard passenger services. A credible future competitor would need access to Mk2E BUO coaches, or demonstrably compatible alternatives, together with the engineering capability to accommodate bespoke modifications and further changes required by Network Rail. Experience of maintaining interoperability with an established monitoring fleet would be important, as would the ability to keep vehicles suitable for safety-critical railway operations without disrupting monitoring work. Suppliers should also be able to provide dependable technical support throughout the hire and extension period, understand the operational consequences of vehicle changes, and work with a public-sector rail infrastructure customer on repeat or modified requirements.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Carriage Hire Agreement for 5 No. Mk2e BUO Coaches

Notice Description

The hire of 5 MK2E BUO Carriages for use in the Infrastructure monitoring fleet. This is for the continued hire of the same set of vehicle Network Rail has been using since 2019 which have undergone significant bespoke modification to make them compatible for use in Infrastructure Monitoring Train operations. The scope of this contract is for their continued hire up until 2028 (extendable until 2029) and to permit further modifications to be made to help better facilitate Infrastructure Monitoring operations.

Procurement Information

Changing suppliers would result in incompatible goods being hired and/or disproportionate technical challenges and costs. Other Mk2E carriages or alternatives hired from the market where they exist would need Network Rail's bespoke Infrastructure monitoring modifications and therefore face interoperability issues or money & time intensive modification costs, which may disrupt Infrastructure Monitoring fleet operations if a switch were to be made. These operations are critical to the safe running of the railway as they identify preventative maintenance requirements.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06941e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072972-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60200000 - Railway transport services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£2,209,700 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£2,209,700 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Aug 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
24 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
31 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 1-2 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
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8SW
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

EASTERN RAIL SERVICES LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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