---
title: "Direct award of a Lease for Class 701 rolling stock"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-051056"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-051056"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051056.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051056.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED"
published: "2025-08-22"
---

# Direct award of a Lease for Class 701 rolling stock

Buyer: SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-051056

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## Summary

South Western Railway Limited has engaged in a public procurement process for the direct award of a lease for Class 701 rolling stock. This procurement falls under the industry category of railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock, servicing regions within the United Kingdom. The contract covers a 5-year lease for 60 ten-car units and 30 five-car units, with related spares and special tools. South Western Railway is the buyer based in London, and the procurement process has reached the contract amendment stage as of August 2025. The contract, initially planned for commencement on 25th May 2025, reflects a procurement method that is a direct award due to technical reasons, as no other fleet can meet the operational needs specified by the contracting authority.

This tender represents significant business growth opportunities, particularly for companies involved in the rail transport industry. Firms with strong capabilities in rolling stock management, maintenance, and related technology provision will find the leasing agreement particularly favourable. Given the direct nature of this award to Rock Rail South Western PLC, companies with expertise in negotiation for sub-letting or potential modifications of rolling stock might also discover opportunities, as the contract includes clauses for adjustments based on structural changes. Businesses looking to engage with public undertakings or participate in large-scale transport projects would benefit from analysing similar market opportunities.

## Notice

Direct award of a 5 year contract for the leasing of 60 x 10 car units and 30 x 5 car units of Class 701 rolling stock and related spares and special tools. The lease of the rolling stock is on the basis that the contracting authority (rather than the supplier) is responsible for all maintenance of the vehicles. The Lease also contains a right to transfer or sub-let the contract to certain third parties and an obligation for the supplier to enter into a direct agreement with the Secretary of State in parallel to the Lease. The direct agreement permits the Secretary of State to call for a New Contract in the event of the termination or expiry of the contracting authority's services agreement with the Secretary of State. The duration of the New Contract would typically be up to 3 years and the terms of the New Contract and the circumstances in which the direct agreement can be relied upon are all unambiguously set out in the direct agreement. The Lease also contains provisions addressing adjustments to monthly rentals on the basis specified in the Lease if certain modifications to the rolling stock are required which are to be funded by the Lessor. In the event that the contract is transferred or sub-let to a third party, a direct agreement is relied upon by the Secretary of State or modifications to the rolling stock are required and are to be funded by the Lessor, it is considered that these would be permitted modifications provided for in the contract.

### Procurement Information

No fleet other than the Rock Rail Class 701 is able to meet the operational and/or capacity requirements that the contracting authority needs from this rolling stock for the necessary contract duration to meet its public passenger rail transport obligations. There is therefore an absence of competition for technical reasons. Any alternatives identified created operational constraints due to unit configuration and a large shortfall in the number of available units. There are therefore no reasonable alternatives to the Class 701 rolling stock.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051008-2025 |
| Notice type | UK10 - Contract Change Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Aug 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 8 May 2025 |
| Contract period | 21 Aug 2025 - 25 May 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £493,605,000 |
| Contracts value | £493,605,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | Vincent Square |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ROCK RAIL SOUTH WESTERN |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

### Codes

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

## Release History

- 22 Aug 2025 at 15:21 - ContractAmendment - UK10 - Contract Change Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051008-2025
- 2 Jul 2025 at 13:33 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036834-2025
- 12 May 2025 at 13:03 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020494-2025
- 11 May 2025 at 13:32 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020267-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/051008-2025
  22nd August 2025 - Contract change notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036834-2025
  2nd July 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020494-2025
  12th May 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020267-2025
  11th May 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-4529

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-051056. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051056.json.