Planning

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

OLE Monitoring for Class 730

WM TRAINS LIMITED

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

06 Oct 2026 at 11:52

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

05 Oct 2026 at 16:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

02 Oct 2026 at 12:42

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Aug 2026 at 12:12

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

22 May 2026 at 11:34

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

WM Trains Ltd plans to procure six overhead line equipment (OLE) remote condition monitoring systems for its Class 730/0 trains. The requirement covers remote camera and wireless accelerometer hardware, a continuing software-as-a-service analytics subscription, and engineering and design documentation. Data must feed directly into the existing OLE monitoring database used for its Class 350 fleet, with one interface combining imagery and sensor analytics. The systems are intended to extend monitoring across WM Trains’ electrified routes and identify infrastructure condition and faults, including faulty dropper wires. Physical installation on the trains is to be carried out separately by the fleet maintainer or original equipment manufacturer. Delivery is intended across railway routes in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West of England.

This is at the planning stage: WM Trains is conducting preliminary market engagement to test whether suppliers can meet the integration requirement; it is not an invitation to tender. The buyer says it may pursue a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023 if engagement establishes that no compatible alternative can avoid disproportionate technical and operational difficulties. The planned procurement is a single lot, with a direct award indicated. The estimated value is £1 million excluding VAT (£1.2 million including VAT). The anticipated contract period is 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2031, with a possible extension to 31 December 2034. WM Trains expects a further notice on 30 October 2026. For this engagement, expressions of interest and clarification questions were due by 9 October 2026, and completed questionnaire responses by 16 October 2026.

The work is suited to suppliers able to deliver interoperable railway OLE monitoring, rather than general train systems integration. The solution must integrate directly with WM Trains’ existing proprietary database and provide a unified interface for real-time combined camera and sensor analytics. Suppliers need to demonstrate autonomous detection of OLE degradation and defects, particularly faulty dropper wires, and support remote data transmission and review using 5G. Hardware must suit the Class 730/0 roof profile, include self-cleaning cameras and a proven low-light approach, and avoid regular roof maintenance access. The system must meet relevant rolling-stock safety and regulatory requirements without compromising vehicle operations, and suppliers must provide engineering, approval, commissioning and handover documentation, plus maintenance, calibration and technical support. WM Trains also requires joint, unrestricted data ownership with Network Rail. Engagement asks for evidence of successful integration with proprietary railway platforms in live operations.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

OLE Monitoring for Class 730

Notice Description

General Information & Purpose of Engagement WM Trains Ltd is undertaking this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 to engage the market regarding the supply and deployment of Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) systems across its Class 730/0 fleet. WM Trains currently operates eight OLE monitoring systems fitted to its Class 350 fleet, delivered via Transmission Dynamics and funded through an asset owner initiative with Angel. This legacy deployment relies on an established, proprietary front-end user interface and database accessed collaboratively by WM Trains, Network Rail, and fleet maintainers to safeguard infrastructure and maintain operational continuity. To enhance the coverage of its electrified routes, WM Trains requires an additional six monitoring systems for the Class 730/0 fleet. WM Trains considers that procuring an alternative, non-integrated solution would create fragmented operational dashboards, split data streams, and cause disproportionate technical difficulties in maintenance and real-time operations. Consequently, the core purpose of this PME is to directly test the market to establish whether any economic operator can realistically deliver the required functionality and integrate seamlessly with the existing proprietary setup without introducing disproportionate technical and operational difficulties. If the market engagement confirms that no compatible alternative can achieve this integration, WM Trains intends to formalise a direct award pursuant to Schedule 5, Paragraph 7 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Section 41 - Direct award in special cases: Additional or repeat goods, services or works). Key Scope Overview & Technical Constraints The planned requirement is strictly for the supply of OLE remote camera monitoring (RCM) and wireless accelerometer hardware, alongside the ongoing SaaS analytics subscription and the necessary engineering/design documentation. The physical installation and fitment to the Class 730/0 fleet will be undertaken separately by the fleet maintainer/OEM acting as the asset design authority. To satisfy operational, safety, and regulatory requirements, any proposed system must meet the following mandatory criteria: 1. Database & System Integration: All data generated by the Class 730 OLE systems must integrate fully and directly into the existing Class 350 OLE monitoring database. 2. Unified Front-End User Interface: The solution must provide a single, common front-end interface that aligns RCM imagery and sensor analytics to deliver real-time combined analytics throughout train operation, avoiding fragmented software suites. 3. Autonomous Defect Detection: The RCM system must autonomously identify and report dynamic OLE conditions, degradation, and infrastructure defects to designated stakeholders, with specific capability to identify and report on faulty dropper wires. 4. 5G Data Transmission: The solution must enable remote collection, processing, high-speed transfer, and review of dynamic OLE monitoring data utilising 5G capability. 5. Camera & Environmental Resilience: The camera system must be self-cleaning to prevent data and evidence loss, include a proven method for low-light conditions, and require no regular roof access for maintenance. 6. Physical & Systems Vehicle Integration: Roof-mounted equipment must be designed specifically for the Class 730 profile while strictly minimising physical and electrical integration into the host train network. 7. Rolling Stock Safety & Standards: The installation must fully comply with all relevant rolling stock standards and legislation, and must not adversely affect vehicle safety, reliability, maintainability, gauging, fire performance, EMC compatibility, or passenger service operations. 8. Engineering Deliverables & Approvals: The supplier must deliver all design, installation, commissioning, acceptance, and handover documentation required by the Infrastructure Manager (Network Rail), the TOC (WM Trains), the Fleet Maintainer (e.g. Siemens), and the ROSCO. 9. Maintenance & Calibration: The supplier must provide clear, documented maintenance, calibration, and ongoing technical support requirements for the installed system. 10. Data Ownership & Governance: All operational, diagnostic, and raw condition data generated across the fleet must be jointly and unreservedly owned by WM Trains Ltd and Network Rail, with unrestricted sharing rights for designated maintainers. Scope Clarification: For the avoidance of doubt, this procurement relates strictly to OLE condition monitoring interoperability and ingestion into the established OLE analytics database. WM Trains is not seeking multi-system train integration and will not review proposals detailing the ingestion of unrelated rolling stock subsystems (such as onboard CCTV, PIS, or general telematics) into an OLE platform.

Planning Information

Market Engagement Process & Submission Instructions Suppliers capable of meeting the technical constraints and demonstrating true cross-platform integration are invited to participate under the following procedure: • Expression of Interest (EOI): Interested suppliers must email procurement@wmtrains.co.uk no later than 9th October using the mandatory subject line: OLE Monitoring for Class 730 - PME Expression of Interest • Engagement Pack Distribution: Upon receipt of a valid EOI, suppliers will be issued the complete Technical Evaluation Pack and Response Questionnaire. • Evidence Submission: Participating suppliers must complete and return the provided questionnaire in full. Submissions must explicitly address the integration challenge by responding to the structured criteria, which include: Section A: Technical proposals for direct database integration and analytics standardisation. Section B: Proof of core technical compliance, hardware constraints, and 5G architecture. Section C: Acceptance of WM Trains' mandatory data ownership and governance model. Section D: Verifiable commercial case studies demonstrating successful integration across proprietary third-party railway platforms in a live operational environment. • Clarifications & Final Submissions: Any written questions or clarifications regarding the requirements must be sent to the contact email no later than 9th October Final PME questionnaire responses must be submitted by 16th October. Procurement Transparency & Engagement Rules • Assessment of Market Capability: Submissions will be evaluated by WM Trains' technical and commercial project team. The outcomes will inform whether a competitive procurement procedure is feasible or if a justification for a Direct Award under Schedule 5, Paragraph 7 of the Procurement Act 2023 is confirmed. • Clarifications & Consolidated Responses: WM Trains Ltd will not enter into bilateral dialogue or provide bespoke feedback on individual submissions. WM Trains reserves the right to issue consolidated, anonymised responses to clarification queries to all participating suppliers where appropriate. • Non-Commitment & No Competitive Advantage: Participation in this preliminary market engagement is entirely voluntary and conducted at the supplier's own cost. Participation does not confer any advantage, preference, or priority in any subsequent procurement procedure. The publication of this PME notice does not commit WM Trains Ltd to conduct a tender or proceed with any contract award.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a0bb
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/094194-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
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
£1,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Oct 2026Today
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
30 Oct 20264 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 31 Dec 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
WM 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
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B3 2ES
Postcode Area
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
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Ladywood
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Ladywood

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...