UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

This project will undertake an investigation into the factors that impact freight braking (deceleration) in low-adhesion conditions, with a focus on understanding the interactions between various influences and how they differ from those observed in passenger or other rail applications. Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.

RSSB is seeking to procure research to develop a migration strategy for the transition to FMRCS. It will provide industry with route map that identifies key stakeholders, GB specific challenges and opportunities, and key milestones laying the groundwork Ffor a more detailed, phased route map that will possibly follow.

RSSB is seeking to procure research to develop a migration strategy for the transition to FMRCS. It will provide industry with route map that identifies key stakeholders, GB specific challenges and opportunities, and key milestones laying the groundwork Ffor a more detailed, phased route map that will possibly follow.

RSSB is seeking to procure research to inform the update of GEGN8578 “Guidance on the Use of On-Train Satellite Positioning Technology Based Locator for Railway Applications” to reflect the GB rail industry’s needs today.

RSSB is seeking to procure research to inform the update of GEGN8578 "Guidance on the Use of On-Train Satellite Positioning Technology Based Locator for Railway Applications" to reflect the GB rail industry's needs today.

RSSB is seeking to procure research that reviews the content, structure, and format of the WON and PON, examines the rationale for providing this information, identifies alternative reliable sources where this information can be readily accessed, and determines whether there is still a requirement for it to be provided in the WON or PON. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./72N5NEHG3J To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/72N5NEHG3J

This research intends to investigate the discrepancies between the maximum vertical dimensions within different gauges, which could create safety issues where such exceedances occur in the vicinity of live overhead wires. The results of this piece of work needs to provide robust evidence to inform the creation of a technical note and potential changes to gauging and electrification standards. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./37G6E7XB2U To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/37G6E7XB2U

RSSB seeks to procure research to address the following research objectives: •Improve the rail industry’s understanding of how the safety risk of a LIB train compares to the safety risk of a combustion engine train. •Enable the rail industry to model changes in the risk profiles associated with the phased introduction of LIB trains to the rail network to replace diesel-only trains. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./C4D3YCT3HN To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/C4D3YCT3HN

RSSB seeks to procure research to address the following research objectives: •Improve the rail industry’s understanding of how the safety risk of a LIB train compares to the safety risk of a combustion engine train. •Enable the rail industry to model changes in the risk profiles associated with the phased introduction of LIB trains to the rail network to replace diesel-only trains. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./M67Q98ZAFJ To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/M67Q98ZAFJ

RSSB is seeking to procure research to determine what space could be available in the lower sector gauge (vehicle and infrastructure) to fit different / additional equipment, that improves electrical safety from the 750 V DC conductor rail system as well as potentially for other purposes. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./5825NRW8X6 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/5825NRW8X6

While systems capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous movement have demonstrated operational readiness, their use remains constrained by existing rules and definitions that do not reflect their modern capabilities. While aerial inspection platforms such as drones are increasingly used across the rail industry, this research focuses solely on “systems capable of autonomous or semi-autonomous movement” for inspection operations, defined here as ground-based technologies operating on or near the track. This research aims to unlock their potential by identifying regulatory blockers and enablers. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./66S353C8J2 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/66S353C8J2

The objective of this research is to define a set of standardised tram-train platform arrangements suitable for use in Great Britain. These arrangements will help support safe, accessible, and cost-effective delivery of future tram-train schemes. The project will: •Develop practical platform interface designs that accommodate tram-train vehicle characteristics, accessibility requirements, and operational constraints such as curvature, cant, and clearance for the largest rolling stock likely to pass the infrastructure (typically freight services). •Support consistency across future schemes by providing clear, annotated arrangements that reduce the need for bespoke infrastructure and improve design efficiency in early project stages. •Inform national standards development, by providing evidence-based recommendations for updating existing infrastructure guidance or supporting the case for a dedicated tram-train platform standard. •Engage relevant industry stakeholders to ensure the outputs are feasible, widely applicable, and aligned with safety, operational, and regulatory expectations. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./4M3464Z9N7 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/4M3464Z9N7

RSSB seeks to procure research to: •Provide insight on front-end lighting used on GB rolling stock; the assumptions made on their performance (both in term of visibility provided to the driver and warning to people on or near the line) •Indicate the degree of warning provided (in terms of distance between an oncoming train and the viewer) by front-end lighting that is: oCompliant with LOC&PAS (Rolling stock - Locomotive & Passenger) NTSN requirements oInstalled on pre-TSI (Technical Specification for Interoperability) vehicles, including yellow front-ends •Assess the variables that can degrade or drift and affect compliance with the requirements, and inspection or maintenance required to keep front-end lighting within limits •Assess the feasibility and potential benefits of automated headlight switching, with or without the added functionality of Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlight technology that is available on road vehicles Successful delivery and implementation will: •Provide industry with evidence on the actual warning provided by the lighting specifications and their impact on safety protocols and train operations. This is intended to inform RSSB Standards Project 22-006 (which is planned to be completed by December 2026). This is also intended to inform an update to RIS-3437-TOM Defective On-Train Equipment and Rule Book Module GERT8000-TW5 Defective or isolated vehicles and on-train equipment, by informing what arrangements remain safe when some external vehicle lighting becomes defective, but other lighting remains working. •Identify the potential advantages and risks of adopting automated headlight switching, with or without ADB headlight technology, considering the need for industry co-ordination. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./27TNAF8FGX To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/27TNAF8FGX

At the highest level, this work package seeks to provide missing empirical data which will support decision making and modelling to better understand how the behaviour of freight braking systems impact on the generation of wheel flats. This project will seek to characterise and document the behaviour of freight braking systems in real world settings. In combination with the other work packages, the outputs of this study will be used to inform the conclusions of the project overall and will provide useful input to other research activities on freight safety. Specifically, the outputs from this work package will support the research in characterising longitudinal compressive forces in freight (T1352), and the investigation into the factors impacting freight braking in low adhesion (T1351). The outputs will be achieved through a variety of static brake tests of real freight trains. The specific objectives of the project will be to: 1.Identify suitable testing parameters or categorisation to prioritise testing and agree a test regime. 2.Understand the performance of different locomotives. 3.Understand how braking behaviour varies with different vehicles, brake setups and components. 4.Understand how brake timing and brake force varies down the length of a long train. 5.Understand how different charging/overcharge procedures influence the behaviour of braking systems. Whilst delivering these objectives will have implications on freight braking and deceleration performance. The primary objective of this work is to support research in the topic of freight safety.   For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./K266X6W9A8 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/K266X6W9A8

This research aims to: -collate knowledge on the current state of driver competence management (assessment and developmental) -identify opportunities to use technology and data more effectively, and -clarify what changes are needed to take advantage of these opportunities. Ultimately, it will support industry in understanding the role of data and technology in developing a risk-based, data-driven, competence management system. A key aspect of this work will be to ensure that any proposed recommendations and conclusions are practical and how these could be implemented across industry. The research will be separated into two distinct phases: For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./DZ33AY244A To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/DZ33AY244A

The aim of T1398 is to generate and apply the methodology needed to prioritise and make the case for interventions to make boarding and alighting more accessible. To achieve this, the project will: •Define a range of Boarding Categories based on PTI geometry data and human factors. The thresholds between these categories should be driven by the proportion of passenger persona groups who can board independently and safely. •Assign platform/train pairings across the network to the Boarding Categories, determining the most appropriate way to capture each pairing given multiple points along the length of platform and multiple doors on trains. This will deliver an understanding of the distribution of actual platform/train stepping arrangements across the categories. This insight must be presented in a way that enables industry to prioritise action and consider solutions for improving stepping arrangements. •Develop a benefit-assessment methodology to assess the value (financial, economic, and societal) resulting from removing the less accessible arrangements from the GB network or partially improving them (e.g. allowing for one carriage of a train to have level access). For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./R6W4Z42F2T To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/R6W4Z42F2T

The aim of T1399 is to establish the evidence base and practical framework required to plan interventions that improve boarding accessibility at the PTI. To achieve this, the project will: • Identify and review interventions: Produce a comprehensive review of national and international interventions to improve boarding (infrastructure-borne, train-borne, hybrid, direct, and indirect). For each intervention the following will need to be considered: feasibility and suitability, technical and operational constraints, expected impact on boarding, and indicative costs. The review will recognise and capture in meaningful ways that these may vary by location and fleet characteristics. • Develop a framework to organise and evaluate interventions: To support decisions, interventions will be categorised and assessed within the context of real-world ‘improvement windows’ associated with planned capital investment (such as fleet overhauls, new train procurements, station upgrades, platform rebuilds/extensions, and track renewals). This framework will support decision-makers in identifying interventions available to them and comparing their impact. To be helpful, such a framework needs to reflect differing local infrastructure conditions and rolling stock configurations. • Develop and assess possible plans of action toward independent boarding: For agreed scenarios representing different levels of investment and timescales, the research will assess how different types of interventions could be combined and sequenced to deliver the greatest accessibility improvements. The analysis will remain at a strategic level, using representative examples and benchmark cost data rather than site-specific designs or surveys, and will balance accessibility goals with financial and practical constraints. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./63273EMNW5 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/63273EMNW5

RSSB seeks to procure desktop research into rail noise mitigation options and associated analysis of noise maps. This work will inform the development of the England Noise Action Plan for rail, and help inform the development of future rail noise policy. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./F38W4E76Y8 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/F38W4E76Y8

T1407 aims to identify the best approaches to improving air flow and air quality management in existing railway stations. By identifying effective assessment methods, classifying air flow types to guide interventions, and conducting a pilot study at Birmingham New Street Station (BNS) to evaluate and recommend practical interventions and solutions, T1407 will inform air quality improvement guidance for wider application across GB railway stations. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./HV38649KFQ To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/HV38649KFQ

T1414 aims to demonstrate the effective use of Solar Reflective Solutions to reduce internal vehicle temperatures, supporting improved passenger comfort, reduced HVAC energy consumption demand and improved component reliability for GB passenger rolling stock. Work Package 1- Benchmarking and trial planning • Assess the current performance of existing rolling stock paint systems to establish a baseline against which the potential benefit and disbenefits of adopting solar reflective alternatives can be determined. • Identify and select SRSs which meet GB passenger rolling stock requirements to ensure the SRSs trialled meet technical, safety, and operational material requirements. • Develop a test plan for a box trial, representative of a rail vehicle, to assess the effect that SRSs would have on internal rail vehicle temperature. Work Package 2 - Box trials • Undertake box trials2, representative of a rail vehicle, as per the test plan produced in WP1, to gather data on the solar, thermal and operational environment performance of SRSs. •Analyse the data gathered from the box trials to enable cost-benefit analysis of the material systems and mitigate potential risk/unsuitable candidates. Work Package 3 - Business case for SRS adoption • Produce an initial business case for the use of SRSs on GB passenger rolling stock based on WP2. Work Package 4 - Planning next steps – This will only be undertaken if business case in WP3 is positive • Identify the questions (including technical) that remain to be answered to make informed decisions on the adoption of SRS. • Develop a test plan for trial(s) that would answer the outstanding questions identified in WP 2 and 3 so RSSB may seek support from relevant parties and plan for such trial(s). Note – The decision to proceed with the last work package will be made by RSSB based on the findings from WP2 and 3. The work for WP4 should be included in the total price, but with the cost separately identified to be able to be removed if WP4 is not progressed. benefit analysis of the material systems and mitigate potential risk/unsuitable candidates. For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Research-services./H6PV3F8HC3 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/H6PV3F8HC3