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Class 334 Rolling Stock Lease

ScotRail Trains Limited

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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13 Oct 2026 at 01:00

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

ScotRail Trains Limited has extended its existing lease of 40 three-car Class 334 electric train units from Eversholt Rail. The trains support passenger services on Glasgow’s suburban lines, including the Bathgate to Edinburgh route, and provide an interim fleet while ScotRail pursues a lasting replacement. The requirement is for the same fleet and scope of supplies as the existing lease, rather than a new or different train type. The trains need to operate with ScotRail’s other fleets and the rail infrastructure on the relevant routes. The buyer is ScotRail Trains Limited, based in Glasgow; delivery and operation are in Scotland.

The lease modification has been awarded to Eversholt Rail and the contract is active. It was made through a limited award procedure without prior publication of a competition notice, modifying the existing lease because additional supplies were needed and ScotRail said a contractor change was not feasible for economic or technical reasons. The contract was signed on 8 October 2026. The extension runs to 31 December 2034, with an option for up to a further 12 months. Its estimated value, including the option and excluding VAT, is £94.9 million. The procurement is one lot, covering the leased fleet and its continued operation; no separate award criteria are stated.

For a future requirement of this kind, a credible supplier would need access to suitable three-car rolling stock and the ability to maintain reliable passenger operations on Glasgow suburban routes. The trains must meet route-specific technical and safety requirements, work with existing rail infrastructure and ScotRail fleets, and avoid the need for disruptive or costly gauging works. Relevant equipment includes Driver Only Operation bodyside cameras for the Bathgate to Edinburgh route. Suppliers would also need to demonstrate compatible depot and network arrangements and support for any required agreements governing fleet operation. The buyer’s rationale shows that crew and engineering training capacity matters: a replacement fleet would require substantial training, and ScotRail had limited capacity to take on another programme while recruiting for other fleet changes. End-to-end fleet, engineering and operational readiness would therefore be important.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Class 334 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 40 x 3 car Class 334 vehicles (the Fleet). The Lease is currently scheduled to expire on 31 December 2030. The parties have agreed to revise the scheduled expiry date to extend the Lease to 31 December 2034, for the same scope of supplies, with an option to extend for up to a further 12 months beyond this revised date. The value of that extension (inclusive of options) is estimated to be GBP 94,900,000 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. 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) Driver Only Operation (DOO) bodyside cameras are a requirement for the Bathgate to Edinburgh portion of the route, currently operated by the class 334 fleet. (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. (iv) Please note there is a Section 54 Agreement currently in place. An extension to the Section 54 agreement is being finalised in relation to the Fleet, and SRT expects that agreement to be in place for the full duration of the lease and options. 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 Cl334 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-r6ebe6-0000845155
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT566613
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
£94,900,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Oct 20261 weeks 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=OCT566613
    Class 334 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 40 x 3 car Class 334 vehicles (the Fleet). The Lease is currently scheduled to expire on 31 December 2030. The parties have agreed to revise the scheduled expiry date to extend the Lease to 31 December 2034, for the same scope of supplies, with an option to extend for up to a further 12 months beyond this revised date. The value of that extension (inclusive of options) is estimated to be GBP 94,900,000 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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