OpenTransport services

Operation of RIDC Melton[E20]

London, United KingdomNETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED[E1]

In plain English

What they want: Network Rail is seeking a supplier to operate Test Track Melton, including the management of train movements, rail haulage , site and workshop support, operational facilities services, provision of locomotives and associated equipment, incident response and stakeholder coordination. Rail Infrastructure and structural building maintenance are excluded.
Who can bid: No restrictions are stated in the notice data. The tender documents may set more.
Deadline: Buyer's deadline: 25 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC. UTC: 25 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC.
Published 23 Oct 2026.
Value: GBP 29,386,811
Buyer: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITEDSee what else this buyer buys and when.
How to apply: Through the buyer's official process. Open the original notice on UK Find a Tender (OCDS) (opens in a new tab) ↗
Tender documents: The tender documents for this notice are on the buyer's own portal, usually behind a free supplier registration. We link to them and do not fetch them, so the report is based on the notice only.

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Deadline[E5]: 25 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC
Value[E21]: GBP 29,386,811
Published[E17]: 23 Oct 2026
Procedure[E16]: Competitive flexible procedure
Source: UK Find a Tender (OCDS) (opens in a new tab)
Last checked: 14 hours ago

About the requirement

From the notice

Network Rail is seeking a supplier to operate Test Track Melton, including the management of train movements, rail haulage , site and workshop support, operational facilities services, provision of locomotives and associated equipment, incident response and stakeholder coordination. Rail Infrastructure and structural building maintenance are excluded. The contract is expected to commence on 1st April, 2028 for an initial four year term, with options to extend by a further two years plus two years, giving a maximum term of eight years.[E6]

Eligibility and requirements

ConditionDelivery location: UK, United Kingdom.[E7]
ConditionThe legal basis is UKPGA 2023/54 (Procurement Act 2023).[E8]
ConditionLot 1 technical criterion: Refer to ITP and PSQ documents[E11]
ConditionLot 1 selection criterion: The highest- scoring candidates that have successfully met all mandatory pass/fail requirements and achieved the heighest technical evaluation scores will be invited to tender.[E9]
ConditionLot 1 economic criterion: Refer to ITP and PSQ documents[E10]
ConditionThe buyer marks lot 1 as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.[E12]
ConditionThe procurement is covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.[E13]
DetailLot 1 runs from 1 Apr 2028 to 31 Mar 2032, extendable to 31 Mar 2036.[E3]
DetailClarification questions close at 16 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC.[E14]
DetailThe notice explains how to submit a tender.[E19]
The notice data states no restriction on who may bid. Exclusion grounds and selection criteria in the tender documents still apply.

Risks and unknowns

UnknownWe read the published notice, not the full tender documents.

Updates

First seen · 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC
The source published a call for competition with a future deadline.
Source document 100378-2026

Evidence

21 facts

Every fact on this page comes from the published notice. Each entry shows the document and the field it was read from.

E1
The buyer is NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED.
Document 100378-2026, field /buyer/name, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E2
The notice is classified under CPV 60200000 (Railway transport services).
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/items/0/additionalClassifications/0/id, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E3
Lot 1 runs from 1 Apr 2028 to 31 Mar 2032, extendable to 31 Mar 2036.
“2028-04-01T00:00:00+01:00 to 2032-03-31T23:59:59+01:00”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/lots/0/contractPeriod, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E4
The buyer's address is in United Kingdom.
Document 100378-2026, field /parties/0/address/country, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E5
Requests to participate must be submitted by 25 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC. Invited suppliers bid later.
“2026-11-25T12:00:00+00:00”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/expressionOfInterestDeadline, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E6
The buyer describes the requirement in the notice.
“Network Rail is seeking a supplier to operate Test Track Melton, including the management of train movements, rail haulage , site and workshop support, operational facilities services, provision of locomotives and associated equipment, incident response and stakeholder coordinat…”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E7
Delivery location: UK, United Kingdom.
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/0, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E8
The legal basis is UKPGA 2023/54 (Procurement Act 2023).
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/legalBasis/id, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E9
Lot 1 selection criterion: The highest- scoring candidates that have successfully met all mandatory pass/fail requirements and achieved the heighest technical evaluation scores will be invited to tender.
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/lots/0/selectionCriteria/criteria/2/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E10
Lot 1 economic criterion: Refer to ITP and PSQ documents
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/lots/0/selectionCriteria/criteria/0/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E11
Lot 1 technical criterion: Refer to ITP and PSQ documents
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/lots/0/selectionCriteria/criteria/1/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E12
The buyer marks lot 1 as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
“sme: true”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/lots/0/suitability/sme, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E13
The procurement is covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
“GPA”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/coveredBy, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E14
Clarification questions close at 16 Nov 2026, 12:00 UTC.
“2026-11-16T12:00:00+00:00”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/enquiryPeriod/endDate, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E15
This is a call for competition. Suppliers can respond.
“tender”
Document 100378-2026, field /tag, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E16
The procedure is: Competitive flexible procedure.
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/procurementMethodDetails, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E17
The notice was published on 23 Oct 2026.
“2026-10-23T11:35:25+01:00”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/documents/2/datePublished, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E18
Find a Tender gives the tender status as active.
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/status, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E19
The notice explains how to submit a tender.
“https://networkrail.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/submissionMethodDetails, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E20
The notice is titled "Operation of RIDC Melton".
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/title, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E21
The stated value is GBP 29,386,811 excluding VAT.
“29386811 GBP”
Document 100378-2026, field /tender/value/amount, read 28 Oct 2026, 09:20 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)

Contains public sector information from Find a Tender, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (opens in a new tab). Personal contact details in notices are not stored or shown.

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Original notice