---
title: "Aerial Survey of the UK Rail Network - LiDAR ( Light Detection and Ranging) and Aerial Photography"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-061326"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-061326"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061326.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061326.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED"
published: "2026-01-30"
---

# Aerial Survey of the UK Rail Network - LiDAR ( Light Detection and Ranging) and Aerial Photography

Buyer: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-061326

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061326.json)

## Summary

Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a central government public authority, is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Aerial Survey of the UK Rail Network - LiDAR and Aerial Photography." This tender falls under the services industry category, specifically aerial photography services, and targets the entire UK region. The procurement is expected to be above the financial threshold and follows a special regime for utilities. The process began on 30th January 2026, with the organisation inviting all interested parties for a Pre-Market Engagement exercise, requiring expressions of interest to be submitted by 2nd March 2026. This market engagement is part of their preparation to capture LiDAR and RGB data during the winter 2027/28 season, aiming to deliver Earthwork Asset condition information efficiently.

This tender offers lucrative opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) with expertise in aerial photography and related technological services to grow their business by collaborating with a prominent national infrastructure entity like Network Rail. The procurement, valued at £12,000,000 gross, allows qualified businesses to participate in providing high-tech survey services essential for monitoring the condition of the UK rail network. Companies that can demonstrate capability in rapid data capture and processing within the specified contract period from May 2027 to April 2028 are well-positioned to compete effectively in this tender.

## Notice

Network Rail require an Aerial Survey of the UK rail network, principally consisting of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and RGB (Red, Green and Blue) data capture. There is a desire to capture this data in the winter 2027/28 season (November 2027 to March 2028) and process it rapidly for the purposes of delivering Earthwork Asset condition information.

### Planning Information

Network Rail is inviting all interested parties to express their interest in this ‘Pre-Market Engagement exercise’ - Please email marcus.pendlebury@networkrail.co.uk with the subject heading "NR National Aerial Survey".
Once interest has been logged, Network Rail will send a Market Engagement Questionnaire along with a background information document. We request that the questionnaire is completed by Monday 2nd March 2026 at 17:00 hours, so please register your interest as soon as possible. 
A follow-up market engagement session may be held with all suppliers, or individual clarification questions sought in response to the questionnaire. 
Please also register as a supplier on our Procurement portal at https://networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/ if you haven’t done so already.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008527-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 30 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Apr 2027 - 30 Apr 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £10,000,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79961200 - Aerial photography services

## Release History

- 30 Jan 2026 at 14:46 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008527-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008527-2026
  30th January 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

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

## 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-061326. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061326.json.