Official UK procurement notice
Train Planning Systems Replacement RFI2
Authority: SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSouth Western Railway (SWR) will be seeking information from the market regarding Train Planning Systems capable of supporting the creation, editing, integration, and validation of train schedules, rolling stock diagrams, and traincrew diagrams. The requirement covers systems that provide intuitive planning interfaces, comprehensive visualisation tools, and the ability to manage date‑bound timetable datasets across long‑term, short‑term, and very short‑term planning horizons.
The scope includes solutions that can integrate securely and efficiently with Network Rail systems and SWR's operational, rostering, optimisation, and business platforms, using industry‑standard data formats and APIs. Suppliers are also invited to provide information on systems that support automated validation of rolling stock and traincrew diagrams, including checks against operational rules, formation requirements, mileage constraints, route and traction knowledge, and depot‑specific standards.
SWR is additionally seeking insight into system capabilities for secure data exchange, auditability, and reporting, as well as indicative commercial models associated with delivering these functionalities.
CPV: Custom software development services · Industry specific software package · Software-related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED buys Industry specific software package (CPV 4810), and who usually turns up
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY LIMITED’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Industry specific software package (CPV 4810) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 42 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid17%
2–335%
4–635%
7+13%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate75%
Within ±2%17%
Above estimate8%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7223Estimate not published
This lot is listed as CPV 7223. The table above uses the notice category.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 789 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–328%
4–628%
7+32%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 18 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-088890- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0775ddFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
18 Sept 2026 → 31 Dec 2028 · 4 dates- Planning notice published38 days ago18 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 35 days1 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
SWR004570 - Train Planning Systems Replacement
The link that enable suppliers to view the documents and respond to this RFI has been added: swrl.medius-s2c.com/S2C/DisplayModules/T… ↗
SWR published an initial RFI to test market interest and it is now issuing a second RFI to test mobilisation timescales. No events have taken place, only the review of responses provided by suppliers in the first RFI round.
RFI1 was issued on January 2026:
South Western Railway (SWR) will undertake preliminary market engagement to gather information from suppliers capable of providing a modern Train Planning System. The scope of this engagement covers system capabilities including schedule creation, rolling stock and traincrew diagramming, user interface design, system integration, secure data exchange, automated validation, and associated commercial models.
The engagement will be conducted remotely through the publication of a Request for Information (RFI). The RFI will be published on 19 January on Find a Tender and will remain open for responses until 19 February, providing a one month window for suppliers to review the materials and submit their responses. No in‑person events are currently planned; however, should SWR schedule any virtual briefings or supplier sessions, details will be shared with suppliers who have expressed interest.
- Tender notice expectedin 156 days2 Apr 2027, 00:59 BST
- Contract starts31 Dec 2028
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Sept 2026, 16:47 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender