IN Brief:
- Network Rail is preparing a £150m geotechnical and civils framework covering Wales and its Western route.
- Suppliers may undertake investigation, design, drainage, rock remediation, construction, and handback under different delivery models.
- RISQS qualification and Principal Contractor capability will determine which suppliers reach the formal tender stage.
Network Rail is preparing a £150m framework for geotechnical and civil engineering works across its Wales and Western region, with suppliers expected to support projects from investigation and design through to construction and handback.
The procurement is currently at preliminary market-engagement stage rather than formal tender. Network Rail intends to divide the framework between two workstreams covering Wales rock cutting and drainage and Western rock cutting and drainage. Suppliers will be permitted to bid for both, but no contractor may ultimately be awarded more than one.
The estimated value is £150m excluding VAT, with an anticipated start on 1 March 2027. The initial agreement will run for three years, with two possible one-year extensions taking the framework through to March 2032 if both options are exercised.
Rock-cutting remediation, earthworks drainage, ground stabilisation, rock netting, and rock scaling sit at the centre of the intended workload. The framework has also been structured to accommodate projects at different stages of development rather than operating solely as a route for construction packages that already have completed designs.
Where a scheme remains at an early stage, Network Rail may instruct suppliers to carry out surveys, investigations, feasibility studies, outline design, and detailed design. Completion of that work will not guarantee the same supplier the subsequent construction contract, preserving the client’s ability to separate development and delivery where that produces a better commercial or technical outcome.
Projects with an established performance requirement may instead be let on a design-and-build basis, placing responsibility for completing the design and delivering the works with the framework supplier. Build-only instructions will also be possible where Network Rail already holds a suitable design, including schemes prepared through its Intelligent Client model.
That range of delivery routes makes the procurement broader than a conventional schedule of routine maintenance. A contractor could be required to investigate deteriorating ground, develop a remedial solution, coordinate temporary works and access, deliver the physical intervention alongside an operational railway, and complete the formal handback process.
Complex or bespoke schemes may also be priced outside the framework’s standard schedule of rates. Network Rail has retained the option to seek standalone prices or run further competition where specialist work cannot reasonably be valued through the normal framework mechanism.
The route to market reflects changes to the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme, which became a dynamic market in April 2026. Network Rail plans to invite suppliers holding the required RISQS classifications for earthworks drainage, rock netting, and rock scaling across relevant design, installation, maintenance, modification, and disposal activities.
Principal Contractor capability is another material threshold. Suppliers must demonstrate their ability to fulfil the role under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, while shortlisted bidders will need a valid Network Rail Principal Contractor licence before progressing to the invitation-to-tender stage.
Network Rail amended that requirement after an earlier supplier-selection exercise excluded some Tier 2 contractors because they did not already hold the licence. The revised approach gives shortlisted businesses additional time to obtain it, while retaining the underlying safety and competence requirement before formal tendering begins.
The change could widen the competitive field for specialist geotechnical businesses without removing the rail-specific barriers to entry. Rock cuttings, slopes, and drainage assets frequently sit alongside or above live railway infrastructure, where restricted access, possessions, geological uncertainty, weather, and the consequences of material reaching the track all influence the construction methodology.
The framework is also intended to support rather than replace existing delivery routes. Network Rail has adjusted its estimated value to reflect that role, meaning the £150m should be treated as anticipated framework capacity rather than a guaranteed workload for the appointed contractors.
Actual call-offs will depend on asset condition, funding, engineering priorities, and the maturity of individual schemes. Some packages may begin as investigation or design commissions before progressing further, while others could enter the framework with an established solution ready for construction.
Suppliers have been asked to register their interest through RISQS before the procurement moves into its pre-qualification phase. The current timetable anticipates publication of the tender notice later in September, followed by an invitation-to-tender stage in November.
For contractors, the immediate competition is therefore as much about qualification and delivery capability as price. The framework is intended for safety-critical work on operational railway assets, and Network Rail is signalling that suppliers will need the technical competence, management systems, rail approvals, and Principal Contractor capability to carry schemes from uncertain ground conditions through to completed handback.
