--- title: "Appointment of an Independent Competent Person (ICP) to support undertaking Safety Verification for the Mass Transit Project (Sheffield Supertram Network)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority" published: "2026-09-09" --- # Appointment of an Independent Competent Person (ICP) to support undertaking Safety Verification for the Mass Transit Project (Sheffield Supertram Network) Buyer: South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b.json) ## Summary South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority intends to appoint an Independent Competent Person to support formal safety verification for the Mass Transit Project, renewing the Sheffield Supertram Network. The work covers engineering and railway-track inspection services across the light rail system, including its 32 trams, 29 kilometres of track, 12 substations, depot, overhead line electrification, bridges, underpass, earthworks, drainage, signalling and communications assets. The network operates mainly in Sheffield and extends to Rotherham using tram-train technology. The Independent Competent Person will support safety verification when renewed or modified infrastructure and vehicles are introduced, in line with the Railways and Other Guided Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006. The buyer is the network owner and strategic infrastructure manager. This is a preliminary planning and market-engagement exercise, not an invitation to tender. The authority is seeking views on market capability, suitable procurement routes and anticipated cost before selecting its approach. It expects the service contract to run from 15 October 2026 to 31 March 2028. There is one planned lot covering the full requirement, and the procurement is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. A market-engagement questionnaire is scheduled for completion and return by 23 September 2026. The authority has not yet set out a final procurement procedure, tender method, evaluation basis or contract value. Suppliers should treat the dates as indicative expectations and use the engagement stage to explain how they could deliver the requirement. This will suit organisations able to act independently as a Competent Person under the Railways and Other Guided Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006, with strong railway or guided-transport safety verification capability. Relevant suppliers are likely to understand the duties of transport undertakings and infrastructure managers, safety management systems, and formal verification for new or modified vehicles and infrastructure. Experience spanning light rail assets would be particularly relevant, including track, trams, electrification, substations, civil engineering, signalling and communications. Firms with the technical breadth to assess a complex operating network and support a substantial asset-renewal programme should use the engagement to set out their capability, preferred contractual route and anticipated service cost. The single-lot structure is expressly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. ## Notice The purpose of this exercise is to support the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to identify and select an appropriate procurement route for appointing an 'Independent Competent Person' as defined in the Railways and Other Guided Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 in relation to the Mass Transit (Supertram) Renewal Project. SYMCA is keen to understand market capability, preferred contractual routes, and an anticipated cost for the services required. This exercise consists of a short market engagement questionnaire for completion and return. SYMCA is the owner of the South Yorkshire Supertram system, a 29km light rail network running predominately within the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, UK. The network includes two fleets of trams (32 vehicles in total), 29km of tracks, 12 substations, one depot, 29km of overhead line electrification, numerous civil engineering assets including bridges, an underpass, earthworks and drainage, and signalling and communications assets. The network originally opened in 1994 and was extended in 2018 into the neighbouring town of Rotherham using innovative tram train technology. The network was previously operated by South Yorkshire Supertram Limited between 1994-2024 which was a subsidiary of national transport operator Stagecoach Group. When this contract ended, SYMCA appointed South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited (SYFTL) to operate the system and undertake day to day maintenance. SYFTL, which is a subsidiary company of SYMCA, is contracted via an Operating Agreement, which allows SYMCA to act as the commissioner (specifying the service levels, maintenance and cleaning standards etc.) with SYFTL responsible for the delivery. Under the Operating Agreement, SYMCA is generally responsible for the funding and delivery of renewals and investment into the system. The Railways and Other Guided Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) place obligations on both SYFTL and SYMCA in relation to managing the network's safety. SYFTL is a Transport Undertaking as the entity which runs trams on the network. SYMCA is the Infrastructure Manager through its role in strategic management of the assets which form the tramway and its role in delivering renewals, however certain activities are undertaken by SYFTL under delegation. Therefore both SYFTL and SYMCA meet the definition of a 'Transport Operator' under ROGS. 1ROGS places certain obligations on Transport Operators where new or modified infrastructure and vehicles are introduced, including the requirement to undertake formal Safety Verification where a Duty Holder's Safety Management System identifies this requirement. As part of this process, Duty Holders must appoint an Independent Competent Person to support this process. SYMCA is currently embarking on a significant project to renew many assets forming the network and needs to appoint the services of an Independent Competent Person as described by ROGS. ### Planning Information The project details and market engagement questionnaire are available at https://procontract.due-north.com. Please register an interest at Project ID DN829011 to access all information. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085569-2026 | | 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 | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 9 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 15 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 | | 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 | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Postcode area | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2BQ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | TLE3 South Yorkshire | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services ### Codes - 71300000 - Engineering services - 71631470 - Railway-track inspection services ## Release History - 9 Sep 2026 at 17:42 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085569-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085569-2026 9th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://procontract.due-north.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-06f60b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f60b.json.