---
title: "904724896 T1350 Understanding root causes and preventing freight wagon wheel flats Work Package 3 - Static Brake Testing of Freight Vehicles"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "RAIL SAFETY STANDARDS BOARD (RSSB)"
published: "2025-12-16"
---

# 904724896 T1350 Understanding root causes and preventing freight wagon wheel flats Work Package 3 - Static Brake Testing of Freight Vehicles

Buyer: RAIL SAFETY STANDARDS BOARD (RSSB)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f

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## Summary

The Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB), based in London, is managing a procurement process entitled "904724896 T1350 Understanding root causes and preventing freight wagon wheel flats Work Package 3 – Static Brake Testing of Freight Vehicles". This contract, which falls under the services category within the research industry, aims to gather empirical data to enhance decision-making and modelling of freight braking systems. The initial tender stage was announced on 17th September 2025, with the tender period concluding on 17th October 2025, while the project is scheduled to commence on 18th November 2025 and will run until 10th April 2026. The procurement follows an open method, characterised as a below-threshold open competition, and requires electronic submissions through the Delta eSourcing portal.

This tender provides an excellent opportunity for businesses specialising in research services, particularly those with expertise in railway braking systems, to contribute to an important safety project. Large enterprises, such as Engineering Support Group Ltd, which has already been actively involved, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), can thrive by participating in this project. The procurement process prioritises quality criteria concerning the understanding of the methodology, expertise, and project management, contributing to opportunities for companies that can deliver innovative approaches and solutions. Successful involvement can lead to positive exposure within the railway sector and could open further collaboration opportunities in related areas of freight safety research.

## Notice

At the highest level, this work package seeks to provide missing empirical data which will support decision making and modelling to better understand how the behaviour of freight braking systems impact on the generation of wheel flats. This project will seek to characterise and document the behaviour of freight braking systems in real world settings. In combination with the other work packages, the outputs of this study will be used to inform the conclusions of the project overall and will provide useful input to other research activities on freight safety. Specifically, the outputs from this work package will support the research in characterising longitudinal compressive forces in freight (T1352), and the investigation into the factors impacting freight braking in low adhesion (T1351). The outputs will be achieved through a variety of static brake tests of real freight trains. The specific objectives of the project will be to: 1.Identify suitable testing parameters or categorisation to prioritise testing and agree a test regime. 2.Understand the performance of different locomotives. 3.Understand how braking behaviour varies with different vehicles, brake setups and components. 4.Understand how brake timing and brake force varies down the length of a long train. 5.Understand how different charging/overcharge procedures influence the behaviour of braking systems. Whilst delivering these objectives will have implications on freight braking and deceleration performance. The primary objective of this work is to support research in the topic of freight safety. To view this notice, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=1001646902

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083297-2025 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Dec 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 17 Oct 2025 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 11 Nov 2025 |
| Contract period | 18 Nov 2025 - 10 Apr 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £120,000 |
| Lots value | £120,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £120,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | RAIL SAFETY STANDARDS BOARD (RSSB) |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | Central London |
| Postcode | EC3M 5AD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | City of London |
| Electoral ward | Aldgate |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ENGINEERING SUPPORT GROUP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services

## Release History

- 16 Dec 2025 at 12:05 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083297-2025
- 17 Sep 2025 at 16:09 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057498-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083297-2025
  16th December 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057498-2025
  17th September 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.delta-esourcing.com/
- https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=1001646902
- 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-059c9f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059c9f.json.