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Class 318 Rolling Stock Lease

ScotRail Trains Limited

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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28 Jul 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

ScotRail Trains Limited has extended the lease of 21 three-car Class 318 electric multiple-unit trains from Eversholt Rail for use on Glasgow’s suburban railway lines. The requirement is for rolling stock supply through a continuing lease, allowing ScotRail to maintain lifeline passenger services while it develops an enduring suburban fleet solution. The trains must interoperate with existing rail infrastructure and ScotRail’s other fleets, and be suitable for the relevant network, depots and safety arrangements. The fleet’s technical features include compatibility with the Glasgow Suburban Lines and fixed front-end gangways that meet route and driver-operating requirements. The procurement is categorised as railway rolling stock and associated rail transport equipment, within the goods category.

This is an awarded and complete procurement. ScotRail used a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition to modify an existing lease, citing the technical and economic impracticality of changing supplier and the need to avoid substantial duplication of cost and disruption. Eversholt Rail was awarded the contract on 28 July 2026, and the contract is active. The agreed extension is valued at £54.7 million excluding VAT, inclusive of an option. It extends the existing arrangement for five years beyond its scheduled expiry on 31 December 2027, with an option for up to a further 12 months. There is one requirement covering the Class 318 fleet; no competitive award criteria are stated.

For a future requirement from ScotRail, credible competitors would need strong rail rolling-stock leasing or fleet-supply capability, with access to suitable electric multiple units and the engineering support needed to keep them in passenger service. The evidence from this award points to a high premium on proven interoperability with existing infrastructure and fleets, route acceptance, depot and safety compatibility, and train configurations that meet operational and driver requirements. Suppliers would also need to demonstrate sufficient fleet availability, reliable performance and the ability to avoid extensive gauging, modification, retraining or out-of-service programmes. Experience supporting a constrained interim fleet solution, while a longer-term fleet is developed, would be commercially relevant.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Class 318 Rolling Stock Lease

Notice Description

This notice concerns a modification to an existing lease (the Lease) procured whilst ScotRail was under the Abellio franchise ownership, between ScotRail Trains Limited (SRT) and Eversholt Rail Leasing Limited (Beacon Rail) for 21 x 3 car Class 318 vehicles (the Fleet). The Lease is currently scheduled to expire on 31 December 2027 and a 5-year extension has been agreed to the Lease for the same scope of supplies, with an additional option to extend for up to a further one year. The value of that extension (inclusive of options) is estimated to be GBP 54,700,000 excluding VAT. This extension is necessary to ensure SRT is able to discharge its obligations and continue to deliver vital services while the suburban new fleet procurement is concluded and is therefore an interim solution until the new fleet can be procured, built and commissioned for passenger service.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Lease is being modified in accordance with regulation 86(1)(b) of the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 as additional supplies not included within the original procurement have become necessary, and a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons and would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of cost for SRT, because: 1. The modification has become necessary: there is a need to secure the ongoing operation of the Lease, which includes lifeline services in Glasgow suburban areas, while SRT carries out a full procurement for an enduring rolling stock solution using emerging technologies (including batteries and network electrification). 2. A change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons: this is because: a. the Fleet has specific characteristics and technical features that are designed to interoperate with the rail infrastructure and SRT's other fleets and are required for operation on the Glasgow Suburban Lines. For example: (i) Along with ScotRail's other existing fleets, the Fleet is the only fleet which is fully accepted for operation on these lines, without incurring expensive and operationally disruptive gauging works. (ii) Fixed front end gangways, which are fitted to a number of EMU fleets, are not accepted by driver unions and are not permitted on the South Glasgow route due to obscuring vision of off-side starter signals. (iii) any alternative Fleet would require an extensive programme of train crew and engineering staff training, incurring significant training which would create significant additional (and disproportionate) training workload at a time when SRT is already engaged in an intensive programme of recruitment for future fleet cascades and new trains and therefore does not have the capacity to commence a training programme for an additional new fleet within the necessary timeframe. b. SRT's analysis has confirmed that there are no alternative available fleets that contain the necessary technical features and could meet these requirements. Other potential available fleets have insufficient trains or would be too long to replace the existing 3-car Cl318 and do not have the network/depot/safety compatibility required to operate on the relevant routes. c. In the event that an alternative existing fleet with suitable performance and technical characteristics was available (which in SRT's view is not the case), and that fleet could be adapted to accommodate the necessary technical features, this would result in substantial duplication of cost, significant inconvenience and extra time out of service, which would be disproportionate in the context of an interim solution.

Options: Option to extend for a period of up to a further 12 months.

Procurement Information

Please refer to II.2.4 for the Description of the procurement

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000837727
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL561060
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F15 - Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

CPV Codes

34600000 - Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£54,700,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ScotRail 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
GLASGOW
Postcode
G2 6HQ
Postcode Area
Glasgow
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM32 Glasgow City
Delivery Location
TLM Scotland
Local Authority
Glasgow City
Electoral Ward
Anderston/City/Yorkhill
Westminster Constituency
Glasgow North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Eversholt Rail

Further Information

Notice Documents

  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL561060
    Class 318 Rolling Stock Lease - This notice concerns a modification to an existing lease (the Lease) procured whilst ScotRail was under the Abellio franchise ownership, between ScotRail Trains Limited (SRT) and Eversholt Rail Leasing Limited (Beacon Rail) for 21 x 3 car Class 318 vehicles (the Fleet). The Lease is currently scheduled to expire on 31 December 2027 and a 5-year extension has been agreed to the Lease for the same scope of supplies, with an additional option to extend for up to a further one year. The value of that extension (inclusive of options) is estimated to be GBP 54,700,000 excluding VAT. This extension is necessary to ensure SRT is able to discharge its obligations and continue to deliver vital services while the suburban new fleet procurement is concluded and is therefore an interim solution until the new fleet can be procured, built and commissioned for passenger service.

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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