--- title: "PME for 115 x Intermodal Wagons (IKA or Equivalent)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "Direct Rail Services Limited" published: "2026-09-01" --- # PME for 115 x Intermodal Wagons (IKA or Equivalent) Buyer: Direct Rail Services Limited Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40.json) ## Summary Direct Rail Services Limited is considering the purchase of 115 intermodal railway freight wagons, specified as IKA wagons or an equivalent design. The requirement is for goods rather than construction or a service, supporting the movement of intermodal freight by rail. The buying organisation is Direct Rail Services Limited, based in Carlisle. The wagons would form a single requirement, with the stated scope covering the full fleet of 115 units. This will suit manufacturers, owners, leasing companies and specialist rail freight equipment providers able to supply intermodal wagons that meet the buyer’s operational and technical needs. Suppliers offering equivalent wagon designs may also be relevant, rather than only those offering the named IKA model. This procurement is at the planning stage and is currently a preliminary market engagement exercise, not an invitation to tender. Direct Rail Services Limited expects to use the information gathered to assess market availability, obtain indicative high-level pricing and shape any future procurement strategy. The planned engagement milestone is 8 September 2026. The estimated value is £5,000,000 including taxes, for one lot. If the requirement proceeds, the planned contract period is 1 October 2027 to 30 September 2032. The buyer has not committed to awarding a contract or proceeding with a future procurement. Suppliers should treat the dates and future contract as indicative planning information, with any formal competition to be established later. The exercise is relevant to businesses with access to intermodal freight wagon design, manufacture, ownership, leasing, fleet supply or rail engineering expertise. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate that they can make 115 wagons available, whether based on the IKA specification or an equivalent solution, and provide credible information on fleet availability and indicative pricing. The scale is suited to established rail rolling-stock providers, specialist wagon manufacturers, asset owners and leasing businesses, while the requirement is expressly identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises. Businesses that can explain technical equivalence, supply capacity, delivery planning and whole-life support should prepare market-engagement information before any formal procurement is launched. ## Notice This is a high-level market engagement exercise intended to obtain availability and indicative high-level pricing from the market. It is not a formal procurement process and does not commit NTS to award a contract or proceed with any future procurement activity. The information received will be used to support internal planning, understand market capability, and inform any potential future procurement strategy. Link to document and PME - https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome ### Planning Information 115 x Intermodal Wagons (IKA or Equivalent) ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082509-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Goods | | 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 | 1 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 8 Sep 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Oct 2027 - 30 Sep 2032 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £5,000,000 | | 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 | Direct Rail Services Limited | | Locality | CARLISLE | | Postcode area | Carlisle | | Postcode | CA6 4SJ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLD1 Cumbria | | ITL 3 | TLD13 Cumberland | | Local authority | Cumberland | | Electoral ward | Dalston and Burgh | | Westminster constituency | Carlisle | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation ### Codes - 34621100 - Railway freight wagons ## Release History - 1 Sep 2026 at 10:44 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082509-2026 - 1 Sep 2026 at 10:31 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082500-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082509-2026 1st September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082500-2026 1st September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome - https://www.directrailservices.com/ - 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-06ef40. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef40.json.