--- title: "Operational Data and System-to-System Messaging Platforming - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06965e" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06965e" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06965e.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06965e.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED" published: "2026-05-12" --- # Operational Data and System-to-System Messaging Platforming - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice Buyer: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06965e [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06965e) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06965e.json) ## Summary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited is in the planning stage for a procurement process focused on the re-platforming of its operational data and system-to-system messaging platforms, namely EMS Hub and LINX. This initiative seeks to address procurement in the information technology services sector, encompassing systems consultancy, programming, and software implementation. Network Rail's headquarters is located in Waterloo, London, and this tender involves the region of the United Kingdom. Details for this procurement process include key dates such as the milestone due on 8th June 2026 for engagement, with a further potential start date of contract around December 2027. This reflects Network Rail's commitment to modernising its data infrastructure, enhancing efficiency and operational performance across its network. This tender offers a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in IT services and software solutions, particularly those with expertise in system integration and messaging solutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to participate. By engaging in this procurement, businesses can gain access to a high-profile client in the UK’s rail industry and contribute to a project with a long-term impact on national infrastructure. The engagement provides a platform for showcasing innovation in data management and integration, paving the way for future collaborations and potential growth in the utilities sector. ## Notice Network Rail currently operates two platforms (EMS Hub and LINX) that perform broadly similar roles in transporting operational data and enabling system-to-system messaging across the railway ecosystem. The EMS Hub has been in use since 2005 as a real-time messaging platform serving Network Rail and industry partners across multiple business sectors. LINX, introduced in 2017, was initially designed to act as a linkage layer between newer train management services and legacy systems. Over time, both platforms have evolved in parallel, resulting in significant functional overlap, duplicated dataflows, and an unclear delineation of responsibilities between them. LINX is a specialist platform for Traffic Management and operational railway data, providing controlled, resilient and standardised real-time data exchange. EMS Hub is a flexible, enterprise integration platform supporting a wide range of business domains, including finance, maintenance, operational reporting and web services. Both EMS Hub and LINX provide real-time messaging and data exchange between operational systems used to manage train movements, timetabling, maintenance, and performance reporting. Because the two platforms are built on the same underlying IBM MQ and IBM ACE technology stack (on-premises IBM zLinux technology), data is shared between them, with both systems exposing this data to external customers in real time. This results in: - Duplicated data transmission, where systems feed separate dataflows into each platform. - External consumers having to subscribe to both platforms to obtain a complete picture. - Parallel technology footprints without a clear business rationale for maintaining two distinct platforms. This duplication of external feeds has introduced unnecessary cost, complexity, and operational inefficiency. EMS Hub in particular has historically acted as the "default" integration layer and now supports a wide mix of operational, financial, and maintenance services. LINX, by contrast, was designed to serve the Traffic Management System, and today provides the core dataflows that underpin real-time railway operations. LINX also depends on several key EMS Hub feeds creating further cross-platform interdependencies. Despite the challenges inherent in the current landscape, both EMS Hub and LINX continue to provide reliable and resilient services that underpin Network Rail's operational data exchange. Together, the platforms enable high-volume, near-real-time data sharing between internal operating centres and external third parties, supporting critical operational and customer-facing use cases. Any future platform should build on these outcomes, providing a generic, scalable, and cost-effective integration capability that supports high-throughput data distribution, interoperation with legacy technologies, and secure connectivity with both internal and external consumers, rather than seeking to replicate the existing solutions on a like-for-like basis. Requirements: Network Rail is exploring options to move toward a single, modern strategic platform to reduce duplication, improve efficiency, and realise long-term operational and financial benefits. Any future platform would need to provide a fully generic messaging capability to support all Network Rail services and departments, not solely train-related data, enabling consistent system-to-system integration across the organisation. This includes understanding both transition considerations and the ongoing cost to operate and maintain any future solution. The intent of this RFI is to understand strategic options for providing this capability in future, rather than to specify a detailed solution or architecture. The information provided is therefore indicative and intended to help suppliers form a view on scale, criticality and operational context, rather than to define prescriptive technical requirements. ------ Further, more detailed, information can be accessed within the 'Current Opportunities' option at the following link, under the title of 'Operational Data and System-to-System Messaging Platforming': https://networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html Any requests for clarification concerning this RFI, and to submit a response, please email supporting documentation as an attachment to tom.weatherley@networkrail.co.uk with the email subject 'LINX/EMS Re-Platforming RFI'. Any future procurement, if undertaken, would be subject to a separate competitive process and is not committed to at this stage. ### Planning Information Further, more detailed, information can be accessed within the 'Current Opportunities' option at the following link, under the title 'Operational Data and System-to-System Messaging Platforming': https://networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html Any requests for clarification concerning this RFI, and to submit a response, please email supporting documentation as an attachment to tom.weatherley@networkrail.co.uk with the email subject 'LINX/EMS Re-Platforming RFI'. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043318-2026 | | 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 | 12 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 8 Jun 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Dec 2027 - 1 Dec 2032 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | 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 - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 72212000 - Programming services of application software - 72220000 - Systems and technical consultancy services - 72222300 - Information technology services - 72263000 - Software implementation services ## Release History - 12 May 2026 at 08:39 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043318-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/043318-2026 12th May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html - 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-06965e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06965e.json.