Notice

East West Rail (Connection Stage 1): prior information notice

Published 6 April 2023

Applies to England

Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007.

Section I: Competent authority

I.1 Name and address

Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
United Kingdom

Email: railprocurement@dft.gov.uk

Telephone: +44 3003 303 000

Internet address: www.gov.uk/dft

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UKI32 – Westminster

I.3 Communication

Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address.

I.4 Type of the competent authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions.

Section II: Object

II.1 Scope of the procurement

II.1.1 Title

Contract for Chiltern Rail Services. Currently Operated by the Chiltern Railway Company Limited.

II.1.2 Main CPV  code

60200000 – Railway transport services.

II.1.3 Type of contract

Services.

Areas covered by the public transport services: rail transport services.

II.2 Description

II.2.2 Additional CPV code(s)

60210000 – public transport services by railways.

II.2.3 Place of performance

NUTS codes

• UKI London
• UKG West Midlands (England)
• UK United Kingdom
• UKJ South East (England)

Main site or place of performance

Chiltern rail services link London Marylebone with Aylesbury, Oxford, Birmingham and Kidderminster.

II.2.4 Description of the procurement

Contract for provision of commuter and regional rail services on the UK conventional mainline rail system. It is envisaged the services would run between:

(a) London to Kidderminster via Birmingham Moor Street
(b) London to Banbury
(c) London to Oxford via High Wycombe
(d) London and/or Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon
(e) Leamington Spa to Birmingham Moor Street
(f) London to Aylesbury via both Amersham and High Wycombe
(g) Oxford to Milton Keynes via Bletchley, as the first of 3 connection stages (CS1) of the East West Rail project (EWR)

This is a mixture of leisure, business and commuter travel.

II.2.7 Envisaged start date and the duration of the contract

Start date: 31 December 2021.

Duration in months: 72 months.

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1 Type of procedure

Direct awards for railway transport (Article 5(6) of Regulation 1370/2007).

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1 Additional information

The directly awarded contract (the Chiltern NRC) was entered into on 2 December 2021 and the operation of passenger services under the Chiltern NRC started on 31 December 2021. The Chiltern NRC has a core duration of 30 months (expiring 1 April 2025) with a maximum duration (at the authority’s discretion) of up to circa 72 months (expiring 12 December 2027).

A prior information notice was published on 6 November 2020 in respect of the award of the Chiltern NRC.

This revised notice is published voluntarily, and for completeness, by the authority to publicise the minor increase in services arising from the addition of the CS1 (Oxford to Milton Keynes via Bletchley) passenger services as the first stage of East West Rail (EWR). It is anticipated that the passenger services will be added to the Chiltern NRC by a deed of amendment to be entered into in or around December 2023. The authority and the operator are aiming to introduce the CS1 passenger services between December 2024 and September 2025.

The authority reserves the right not to proceed with the addition of the CS1 passenger services to the Chiltern NRC as envisaged or to use an alternative method to procure an operator for those passenger services.

EWR will ultimately introduce new rail services between Oxford and Cambridge (through 3 connection stages CS1 to CS3). Plans for the procurement of the future overall operator of EWR passenger services are under consideration.

VI.4 Date of dispatch of this notice

6 April 2023.