Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Ground Transportation (Rail Replacement Taxi)

WM TRAINS LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

17 Sep 2026 at 16:35

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

WM TRAINS LIMITED procured planned and unplanned taxi transport for staff and customers, supporting rail replacement when train services are cancelled, amended or disrupted. The service also provides supplementary or contingency capacity on routes where existing transport is likely to be oversubscribed, including on-the-day incidents. It is intended to keep traincrew movements and customer journeys operating safely, securely and reliably, protecting train service delivery and customer experience. The work is transport services (CPV 60000000), delivered across England. The requirement covers one lot and is particularly relevant to taxi, private-hire and managed ground-transport operators able to coordinate journeys across a wide geographic area and respond to urgent rail disruption.

The procurement is complete and an interim contract has been awarded by direct award to CMAC GROUP UK LIMITED. The award date is 17 September 2026, with a gross value of £1,920,000 (£1,600,000 excluding tax). The contract period runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027, and signature was scheduled for 9 October 2026. WM TRAINS LIMITED used an urgency justification under the Procurement Act 2023, stating that the existing provider could not continue after a short period and that continuity was necessary while a competitive procurement was undertaken through an established dynamic market. The award is above threshold and relates to one completed lot. The published process used no competitive tender or stated quality-price evaluation basis.

Although this contract has been awarded, it demonstrates sustained demand for managed taxi transport supporting a rail operator and the scale of capability expected from a future competing supplier. A credible alternative would need to provide dependable coverage across England, dispatch vehicles for planned and unplanned journeys, and mobilise quickly when services are cancelled, amended or disrupted. It would need enough driver and vehicle capacity to handle supplementary demand on infrequent or oversubscribed routes, including same-day incidents. Strong operational control, geographic reach, 24-hour responsiveness and reliable coordination with train operations would be important. Suppliers should also be able to demonstrate safe, secure and consistent journeys for both customers and rail staff, while maintaining service continuity during disruption.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Ground Transportation (Rail Replacement Taxi)

Notice Description

Provision of planned and unplanned taxi services for staff and customers. WMT has a significant reliance on road transport services to support the operation of its rail network, particularly for traincrew movements. Given the critical nature of these journeys, any disruption in the provision of taxi transport has the potential to directly impact operational performance, train service delivery, and customer experience. The proposed direct award would provide service continuity while allowing WMT sufficient time to undertake a comprehensive competitive procurement exercise for a longer-term solution.

Procurement Information

This direct award is being made under PA23 justification Sch. 5 paragraph 13 "Urgency" 13 Where- (a) the goods, services or works to be supplied under the public contract are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, and (b) as a result the public contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure. and paragraph 14 where urgency is unavoidable as it (a) is not attributable to any act or omission of the contracting authority, and (b) could not have been foreseen by the contracting authority. WMTL intended to extend the services of the current supplier for a further 12 months under the existing provisions of the previous UCR 2016 and current contract to allow for a PA23 compliant tender. However, this was set aside due to the current supplier advising recently that they would be unable to provide services for after a short time with a significant cost increase. WMTL will need to issue a direct award as a matter of urgency in order to continue managed taxi rail replacement services in order to mobilise an interim supplier within the time frame that services will be suspended with current provider. Rail Replacement services are a necessary and business critical process for the business and industry. The successful supplier will be expected to deliver the following outcomes and critical success factors: a. Enable customers to access rail replacement transport services whenever train services are cancelled, amended, or disrupted, including on-the-day incidents. b. Provide supplementary or contingency transport capacity, particularly on infrequent routes, where rail or existing replacement services are forecast to be oversubscribed. c. Ensure customers and staff are transported in a safe, secure, and reliable environment throughout their journey. Without the Rail Replacement services, potential for operation of trains could stop due to lack of train crew. This Direct Award will be advertised as an interim award while a compliant tender is taking place under the Dynamic Market already set up by DFT Operator Limited for Train Operating Companies to use. At this current time, a limited number (4) of suppliers have been allowed entry into the Dynamic Market, so the available pool of preferred supplier to manage this contract in the interim is finite.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0774cd
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088383-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,600,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
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
Not specified
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Ladywood
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Ladywood

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CMAC GROUP UK LIMITED

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...