Open tenders / Transport & taxis
Open tender · Notice 093451-2026
Rail Replacement Service - Bus and Coach Operators- Release 2
- Value
- £81m
- Closes
- 27 Oct 2026 (12 days)
- Where
- North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West, Wales
- Lots
- 3
- Suitable for SMEs
- Yes, says the buyer
- Contract
- 7 Dec 2026 – 23 Jul 2034
Framework: winning a place puts you on an approved list for future work. It's the entry ticket, not guaranteed work.
In plain English
Transport for Wales Rail is reopening its list of approved bus, coach and minibus operators to run rail replacement services across Wales and cross-border routes, plus occasional one-off passenger transport work. The arrangement runs from December 2026 to August 2034, with an estimated total value of about £71.6m across all suppliers.
Good fit for: Bus, coach and minibus operators in Wales and border areas with PSV-licensed vehicles and drivers.
- You must get onto the approved supplier list at this second opening to win work
- Long contract window to 2034, so operators need to sustain availability over time
- No deadline or procedure stated in the notice - check with the buyer
Written with AI from the official notice. Check the notice before relying on it.
What the buyer says
Transport for Wales Rail (TfWRL) are in-housing the co-ordination and management of Rail Replacement Service (RRS) across Wales and Border routes operated by TfWRL within Wales and between Wales and England. Or any such route operated by TfW as may arise in future. This means that all pre-planned and emergency rail replacement services currently provided by coach and bus operators through an aggregator agreement, will be contracted for as services, directly by TfWRL. This procurement also includes the requirement for adhoc travel services to be commissioned via this framework as they arise. Based upon 25/26 Financial year data, approximately 6,000 emergency duties and 21,000 planned duties were delivered by circa 110 different operators. It is currently intended the Open Framework will run for the maximum 8 year term. This procurement relates to the second opening of the Rail Replacement Services Open Framework and provides an opportunity for additional operators to apply for the framework and current operators to update their submissions. Full information of how to do so is included in the ITT pack.
Procedure: Competitive flexible procedure (Flexible: the buyer sets the stages, often a shortlist first, then bids). Published 2 Oct 2026.
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