Scope
Description
Northern (NTL) has 34 class 323's with 17 of these transferred from West Midlands Railway which are required to be brought in line with Northern's branding. The core aspect of the tender will be for 17 trainsets (51 vehicles) to be refreshed in line with NTL's specifications. The relevant specifications which can be provided upon request prior to the tender going live are;
PBMP2835 NTL Class 323 Interior Refresh - Issue 1D3
SoFPB23022-002-Northern CL323 Schedule of Finishes-Draft 3
In addition to the 17x trainsets the tender will provide an option for 2x additional class 323 trainsets which NTL are looking at bring onto lease as to cover timetable requirements whilst various other fleets are being taken out of service for repair works outside of the scope of this tender. NTL cannot guarentee that these 2 units are going to go through refresh however NTL asks that bidders provide an optional price should these units be refreshed.
The Unit numbers for the 17 are;
323202
323203
323205
323206
323207
323208
323209
323210
323212
323213
323217
323218
323219
323220
323241
323242
NTL intends for the winning bidder to undertake the works at NTL's Manchester International Depot (MID) with works to commence in September 2025 and run until April 2026. The First in Class unit will enter works and subject to winning bidders project plans will likely go through initial strip stage ahead of a 2nd unit being released into the project scope. From this point until project completion the Refresh programme will operate on a 2x unit holding as to reduce the overall project timescales. These timescales are outlined in order to manage bidders expectations for this tender in the following respects;
1. The commencement date of September is outlined as NTL is looking to issue this tender within the next couple of weeks and will then run a 1 staged tender process as to provide the winning bidder with as much mobilisation time as feasible. It is noted that the works of the refresh are relatively standard and that MID as a facility will require minimum modifications however as part of the tender bidders will be invited to MID as part of the assessment.
2. The end date of April 2026 is a key consideration for this project as various roads at MID are required for NTL's ETCS upgrade plans therefore slippage to this date is important to avoid.
A Pre-Qualifying Criteria for bidders to be able to submit bids that will be evaluated for this tender is that Suppliers are registered with RISQs against RICCL Code E.E.2 Electrical Multiple Units.
Contract dates (estimated)
- 25 August 2025 to 1 April 2027
- 1 year, 7 months, 8 days
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid.
NTL may require 2x additional class 323's to be added to the refresh project
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 50220000 - Repair, maintenance and associated services related to railways and other equipment
Contract locations
- UKD - North West (England)
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
5 May 2025
Tender submission deadline
13 June 2025, 11:59pm
Submission address and any special instructions
NTL will issue this tender via Delta and Social Value submissions will be via the Social Value Portal.
Links to these shall be submitted upon the tender going live
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
11 July 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Quality | 50% |
| Commercial | Price | 40% |
| Social Value | Quality | 10% |
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Special regime
Utilities
Reduced tendering period
Yes
Qualifying planned procurement notice - minimum 10 days
Documents
Associated tender documents
SoFPB23022-002-Northern CL323 Schedule of Finishes-Draft 3.pdf
PBMP2835 NTL Class 323 Interior Refresh - Issue 1D3.pdf
Contracting authority
NORTHERN TRAINS LIMITED
- Companies House: 03076444
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PZCJ-2164-HJQZ
George Stephenson House
York
YO1 6JT
United Kingdom
Region: UKE21 - York
Organisation type: Public authority - central government