--- title: "Supply of Aluminothermic Welding Materials and Associated Equipment" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05a158" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05a158" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a158.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a158.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED" published: "2026-01-26" --- # Supply of Aluminothermic Welding Materials and Associated Equipment Buyer: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05a158 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05a158) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a158.json) ## Summary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited has engaged in a procurement process under the Procurement Act 2023, awarding a contract directly to Pandrol Limited for the supply of Aluminothermic Welding Materials and Associated Equipment. This procurement falls under the industry category of utilities and welding materials and equipment, operating within a framework agreement without further competition. The contract is active from 11 November 2025 to 31 October 2029, extendable by another four years, and caters to delivery locations within the United Kingdom. The procurement stage is at contract update, with the most recent information available logged on 26 January 2026. This contract presents substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in welding materials and equipment, particularly those equipped for large-scale supply and adherence to specific technical standards like NR/L2/TRK/0032 and EN14730-1. Companies with expertise in these processes and suitable scale can gain substantial benefits by aligning with such framework agreements, which also offer opportunities for annual price reviews to ensure competitive rates. The focus on direct awards presents niche firms with unique product offerings a path to sustained collaboration and growth through specialised contracts with major entities like Network Rail. ## Notice Network Rail has awarded a contract via Direct Award under the Procurement Act 2023 to Pandrol Limited for the Supply of Aluminothermic Welding Materials and Associated Equipment. ### Procurement Information With respect to joining rails on site, Aluminothermic Welding is the only welding process Network Rail can utilise given the number of welds installed on an annual basis (Circa 30,000 - 40,000). Other welding processes are either not suitable (enclosed arc welding) or unable to support the number of sites and welds required per year i.e. flash butt welding as only 1 machine is available in the UK to support this process. Network Rail has a number of Aluminothermic Welders in the business which are trained on the Supplier's Aluminothermic Welding Process. In order to continue using this process, Network Rail has to use the Supplier's Aluminothermic Welding Materials and associated equipment as they are specific to their processes and alternatives would be incompatible with the process. Network Rail is unable to move to another Aluminothermic Welding process as this would require retraining of all welding staff which would cause disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. In addition to this, there are no other Suppliers in the market which have an Aluminothermic Welding process approved to the requirements of NR/L2/TRK/0032 and EN14730-1. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006707-2026 | | Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice | | Procurement type | Framework | | Procurement category | Goods | | Procurement method | Direct | | Procurement method details | Direct award | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Large | | All stages | Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 26 Jan 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 24 Sep 2025 | | Contract period | 11 Nov 2025 - 31 Oct 2029 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | £6,100,000 | | Contracts value | £6,100,000 | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Complete | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Active | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South East London | | Postcode | SE1 8SW | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East | | ITL 3 | TLI45 Lambeth | | Local authority | Lambeth | | Electoral ward | Waterloo & South Bank | | Westminster constituency | Vauxhall and Camberwell Green | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | PANDROL | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 42 - Industrial machinery - 44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus) ### Codes - 42662000 - Welding equipment - 44315200 - Welding materials ## Release History - 26 Jan 2026 at 14:14 - AwardUpdate - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006707-2026 - 2 Dec 2025 at 09:54 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078747-2025 - 10 Oct 2025 at 14:51 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064303-2025 - 24 Sep 2025 at 14:37 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059367-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006707-2026 26th January 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078747-2025 2nd December 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064303-2025 10th October 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059367-2025 24th September 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-10922 ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.networkrail.co.uk/ - https://www.pandrol.com/ ## 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-05a158. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a158.json.