Construction Contract Leads

Scope

Reference

CT5466

Description

The East West Railway Company (the Authority) is responsible for the delivery of East West Rail (EWR), a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project providing new and upgraded rail links between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. EWR Co. is responsible for leading the development, procurement, and commissioning of the railway.

The Authority is undertaking a procurement for Client Support Framework (CSF) Partners to support the development and delivery of the EWR programme.

Overview of the Intended Contract

The Authority is establishing a 3 lot / single appointed supplier per lot framework for the provision of Client Support Services (CSF) for a period of twelve (12) years.

Relationship with the ITOAE Partner

The Authority is separately procuring an Integration, Technical, Operations, Assurance and Environmental (ITOAE) Partner.

The Authority's current position is that the CSF partners will be structurally separated from the ITOAE, such that the appointed CSF Partners will not be eligible to be appointed under the ITOAE for the duration of the CSF contracts. The purpose of this separation is to protect the independence of assurance and advice, to mitigate real or perceived conflicts of interest, and to align with independent review findings on major programme governance (including the Stewart Review, 2025).

The Conditions of Participation are :-

Stage 0 - Expression of Interest and Ethical Walls Agreement where relevant.

Stage 1 - PSQ stage to include Legal and Financial Capacity , Conflict of Interest declarations and Technical ability.

Stage 2 - ITT stage for shortlisted suppliers to include Quality and Commercial evaluation.

Stage 3 - Optional negotiation.

All be set in accordance with the Authority's obligations under the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024.

Scope of Services

At this stage , the Authority has defined the high-level scope of services.

Lot 1 - Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

Programme, portfolio and package level reporting:

• integrated cost, schedule, risk, opportunity and change performance reporting;

• executive dashboards, KPI scorecards and delivery confidence assessments;

• consolidated programme performance reporting aligned to EWR governance and reporting cycles.

Planning and scheduling support:

• development, maintenance and assurance of integrated master schedules and performance baselines;

• critical path, float, milestone, recovery and scenario analysis;

• schedule risk analysis and integrated planning standards support.

Cost and performance controls:

• delivery cost forecasting, ETC/EAC management and performance reporting;

• reconciliation of cost, schedule, risk and change baselines;

• trend analysis, earned value management and early warning indicators.

Risk, issue and opportunity management support:

• maintenance of programme risk, issue and opportunity registers within ARM;

• quantitative schedule and cost risk analysis (QSRA/QCRA) support;

• risk reporting, mitigation tracking, assurance coordination and escalation management.

Governance, assurance and management information (MI):

• Board, Executive, Sponsor and DfT reporting and governance support;

• stage gate, assurance, change governance and gateway readiness activities;

• standardised reporting products, evidence packs and audit-ready decision records.

Controls systems, data governance and digital reporting:

• administration and optimisation of planning, cost, risk and reporting toolsets;

• Power BI reporting environments, automated reporting and data analytics;

• data governance, quality assurance, configuration control and document management interfaces.

Lot 2 - Commercial Management and Contract Administration support

Procurement support:

• pre tender estimation;

• commercial evaluation;

• commercial support during tender processes.

Contract administration:

• management of notices, instructions, early warnings and compensation events;

• administration of NEC (or equivalent) processes;

• maintenance of contractual registers and correspondence logs.

Change control and forecasting support:

• cost planning, estimating and cost engineering;

• development and maintenance of cost estimates;

• assessment and logging of change events;

• affordability and cost assurance of options.

Payment and cost management support:

• valuation support;

• payment application assessment;

• reconciliation against cost records.

Claims avoidance and dispute support:

• contemporaneous record management;

• support to dispute resolution processes;

• preparation of evidence packs (without advocacy role unless instructed).

Supplier performance and compliance monitoring:

• performance data collation against contractual KPIs;

• payment practice and supply chain compliance checks.

Commercial data and audit support:

• audit responses and evidence collation;

• benchmarking and affordability analyses.

Lot 3 - Project & Construction Management Support

Project and package management support:

• workstream coordination and day to day management support;

• delivery plan development and tracking;

• action management and follow up;

• Interface and dependency management;

• coordination across contractors, designers, third parties and stakeholders;

• management of interface schedules and logs.

Programme governance support:

• preparation of governance boards and working groups;

• action and decision tracking;

• support to stage gate and readiness reviews.

Stakeholder and third party coordination, including:

• support to statutory undertaker, local authority and regulator engagement;

• tracking of commitments and undertakings.

Transition and mobilisation support:

• support to phase transitions (e.g. design to construction);

• readiness planning and handover coordination.

Delivery performance support:

• progress measurement and reporting;

• recovery planning support (without authority to direct suppliers).

Construction Management:

• Clerk of works/Site Inspector

• Construction Supervisor/Compliance Manager

• Quality Assurance

• Health & Safety

• CDM compliance.

This procurement will be run concurrently with others. Bidders may tender for any or all of the Lots/Contracts identified in the table shown in Package Bidding and Award Constraints letter.

This approach is intended to support market participation and allow bidders to put forward appropriate delivery solutions.

However, submitting tenders for multiple Lots/Contracts across the Procurements does not mean a bidder will be eligible to be awarded all Lots/Contracts. Award decisions will be subject to the Lot/Contract interaction rules set out in the letter, which are intended to:

• Maintain independence between assurance, management and delivery functions.

• Avoid conflicts of interest.

• Prevent excessive concentration of specialist services within a single organisation.

• Preserve effective commercial oversight.

• Ensure suppliers have sufficient capacity and capability to successfully deliver awarded contracts.

Please ensure you refer to Package Bidding and Award Constraints letter for further detail.

• Contract Form - NEC4 Professional Service Contract

• Estimated total value - £230 million -£350 million

Commercial tool

Establishes a framework

Total value (estimated)

• £350,000,000 excluding VAT
• £420,000,000 including VAT

Above the relevant threshold

Contract dates (estimated)

• 1 May 2028 to 30 April 2040
• 12 years

Main procurement category

Services

CPV classifications

• 71300000 - Engineering services
• 71310000 - Consultative engineering and construction services
• 71311230 - Railway engineering services
• 71311200 - Transport systems consultancy services
• 71311300 - Infrastructure works consultancy services
• 71248000 - Supervision of project and documentation
• 72224000 - Project management consultancy services
• 71541000 - Construction project management services
• 71317210 - Health and safety consultancy services
• 79418000 - Procurement consultancy services
• 79994000 - Contract administration services
• 71242000 - Project and design preparation, estimation of costs
• 71244000 - Calculation of costs, monitoring of costs
• 98511000 - Services of commercial workers
• 79212000 - Auditing services
• 79212300 - Statutory audit services

Contract locations

• UK - United Kingdom

Lot constraints

Maximum number of lots a supplier can be awarded: 1

Description of how multiple lots may be awarded:

N/A

Lot 1. Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

Description

Programme, portfolio and package level reporting:

• integrated cost, schedule, risk, opportunity and change performance reporting;

• executive dashboards, KPI scorecards and delivery confidence assessments;

• consolidated programme performance reporting aligned to EWR governance and reporting cycles.

Planning and scheduling support:

• development, maintenance and assurance of master and integrated schedules;

• critical path, float and scenario analysis;

• schedule change control support.

Cost and performance controls:

• cost forecasting and EAC support;

• reconciliation of cost, schedule and scope baselines;

• trend analysis and early warning indicators.

Risk, issue and opportunity management support:

• maintenance of programme and workstream risk registers;

• quantitative risk analysis (QRA) support;

• interface with assurance and gateway preparation.

Management information (MI) production:

• Board, Sponsor and DfT packs;

• standardised reporting templates and data definitions;

• audit ready evidence trails.

Controls systems and data governance:

• toolset configuration and administration (e.g. planning, cost, risk tools);

• data quality checks and consistency rules;

• document and records management interfaces.

Lot value (estimated)

• £127,000,000 excluding VAT
• £152,400,000 including VAT

Framework lot values may be shared with other lots

Same for all lots

CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.

Lot 2. Commercial Management and Contract Administration Support

Description

Procurement support:

• pre tender estimation;

• commercial evaluation;

• commercial support during tender processes.

Contract administration:

• management of notices, instructions, early warnings and compensation events;

• administration of NEC (or equivalent) processes;

• maintenance of contractual registers and correspondence logs.

Change control and forecasting support:

• cost planning, estimating and cost engineering;

• development and maintenance of cost estimates;

• assessment and logging of change events;

• affordability and cost assurance of options.

Payment and cost management support:

• valuation support;

• payment application assessment;

• reconciliation against cost records.

Claims avoidance and dispute support:

• contemporaneous record management;

• support to dispute resolution processes;

• preparation of evidence packs (without advocacy role unless instructed).

Supplier performance and compliance monitoring:

• performance data collation against contractual KPIs;

• payment practice and supply chain compliance checks.

Commercial data and audit support:

• audit responses and evidence collation;

• benchmarking and affordability analyses.

Lot value (estimated)

• £72,000,000 excluding VAT
• £86,400,000 including VAT

Framework lot values may be shared with other lots

Same for all lots

CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.

Lot 3. Project & Construction Management Support

Description

Project and package management support:

• workstream coordination and day to day management support;

• delivery plan development and tracking;

• action management and follow up;

• Interface and dependency management;

• coordination across contractors, designers, third parties and stakeholders;

• management of interface schedules and logs.

Programme governance support:

• preparation of governance boards and working groups;

• action and decision tracking;

• support to stage gate and readiness reviews.

Stakeholder and third party coordination, including:

• support to statutory undertaker, local authority and regulator engagement;

• tracking of commitments and undertakings.

Transition and mobilisation support:

• support to phase transitions (e.g. design to construction);

• readiness planning and handover coordination.

Delivery performance support:

• progress measurement and reporting;

• recovery planning support (without authority to direct suppliers).

Construction Management:

• Clerk of works/Site Inspector

• Construction Supervisor/Compliance Manager

• Quality Assurance

• Health & Safety

• CDM compliance.

Lot value (estimated)

• £151,000,000 excluding VAT
• £181,200,000 including VAT

Framework lot values may be shared with other lots

Same for all lots

CPV classifications, contract locations and contract dates are shown in the Scope section, because they are the same for all lots.

Framework

Maximum number of suppliers

3

Maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers

0%

Justification for framework term over 8 years

In accordance with section 47(2) of the Procurement Act 2023, the Authority considers that due to the nature of the services supplied in accordance with the framework, a longer term is required. EWR is a large construction and infrastructure project where a variety of call-off contracts can be awarded under the framework throughout the life of development. Contracts need to be awarded for initial professional services as well as for various aspects of the construction/development, which may be undertaken in phases, through to completion of the programme.

Framework operation description

Described in tender documentation.

Award method when using the framework

Either with or without competition

Contracting authorities that may use the framework

Network Rail

Participation

Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation

Lot 1. Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

Lot 2. Commercial Management and Contract Administration Support

Lot 3. Project & Construction Management Support

Stage 0 - Completion of EOI and EWA

Tenderers will only be provided with the full set of Associated Tender Documents once they have completed Appendix C -Expression of Interest and for existing Authority suppliers, Appendix B - EWA. The full set of Associated Tender Documents will set out the details of the each of the subsequent stages:

Stage 1 - Procurement Specific Questionnaire (ITP / PSQ Stage)

Stage 2 - Tender Stage (ITT Stage)

Stage 3 - Optional Negotiation Stage

Technical ability conditions of participation

Lot 1. Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

Lot 2. Commercial Management and Contract Administration Support

Lot 3. Project & Construction Management Support

Technical ability will be evaluated in two stages as below by means of asssessment questions in both stages.

Stage 1 - Procurement Specific Questionnaire (ITP / PSQ Stage)

Stage 2 - Tender Stage (ITT Stage)

Particular suitability

Lot 1. Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

Lot 2. Commercial Management and Contract Administration Support

Lot 3. Project & Construction Management Support

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
• Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)

Submission

Enquiry deadline

6 November 2026, 12:00pm

Submission type

Requests to participate

Deadline for requests to participate

13 November 2026, 12:00pm

Submission address and any special instructions

https://eastwestrail.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/esop/ogc-host/public/eastwestrail/web/login.jst?_ncp=1791885132105.1056374-1

Tenders may be submitted electronically

Yes

Languages that may be used for submission

English

Suppliers to be invited to tender

Lot 1. Reporting and Controls / PMO Support

5 to 6 suppliers

Selection criteria:

PSQ highest ranked bidders.

Lot 2. Commercial Management and Contract Administration Support

5 to 6 suppliers

Selection criteria:

PSQ highest ranked bidders

Lot 3. Project & Construction Management Support

5 to 6 suppliers

Selection criteria:

PSQ highest ranked bidders

Award decision date (estimated)

13 December 2027

Award criteria

Weighting description

Quality/Technical

Commercial /Price

Social Value

Other information

Conflicts assessment prepared/revised

Yes

Procedure

Procedure type

Competitive flexible procedure

Special regime

Utilities

Competitive flexible procedure description

Stage 0 - Expression of Interest and Ethical Walls Agreement where relevant.

Stage 1 - PSQ stage to include Legal and Financial Capacity , Conflict of Interest declarations and Technical ability.

Stage 2 - ITT stage for shortlisted suppliers to include Quality and Commercial evaluation.

Stage 3 - Optional negotiation.

Documents

Documents to be provided after the tender notice

The procurement will be a 3-4 stage process as follows: -

• Stage 0 Confirmation of Bid Intent -Expressions of Interest (EOI) and Conflict of Interest (COI) and Ethical Walls Agreement

• Stage 1 - Procurement Specific Questionnaire (ITP / PSQ Stage)

• Stage 2 - Tender Stage (ITT Stage)

• Stage 3 - Optional Negotiation Stage

Documents are issued in stages. Issued now, with this notice (Stage 0): the Guidance for Interested Parties, Appendix A (Package Bidding and Award Constraints), Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement), Appendix C (Expression of Interest), Appendix D (Market Engagement Findings) and Appendix E (E-Sourcing Guide).

To proceed, an interested party must submit Appendix C (Expression of Interest) and, where applicable, the signed Appendix B (Ethical Walls Agreement) by 13 November 2026. This is the gateway to the competition; parties who do not submit by this deadline will not be issued the selection documents.

The Ethical Walls Agreement is mandatory for all parties to which it applies (existing Authority suppliers, and any party, including consortium members, affiliates and subcontractors, with access to Authority confidential information). It is issued on a non-negotiable basis and must be signed and returned as issued; it must not be amended or marked up, and any amended version will be rejected.

The Pre-Selection Questionnaire (PSQ) documents will then be released to cleared parties on 30 November 2026. The deadline for the request to participate (the completed PSQ) is 24th February 2027. This is the PSQ deadline (Stage 1), not the Expression of Interest deadline.

The Invitation to Tender (ITT) is not issued at this stage. It will be issued to selected participants at stage 2.

All interested parties should access the Authority's e-tendering portal:

https://eastwestrail.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=61617 to access the stage 0 documents.

Contracting authority

East West Rail Company Limited

• Companies House: 11072935

The Quadrant, Milton Keynes

MILTON KEYNES

MK9 1EN

United Kingdom

Contact name: Marcus Pendlebury

Email: Commercial [at] eastwestrail.co.uk

Region: UKJ12 - Milton Keynes

Organisation type: Public authority - central government

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