What’s happening with Irish rail tenders?

Have you been staying up to date with Irish rail tenders? If not, you may be interested in learning about some of the latest developments in the sector. We’ve put together this blog so you can find out more. This could be helpful if you wish to become a supplier.

Investment in new trains for dart and fleet

 41 new railcars

In October 2019, the government approved an order for 41 new railcars. This is to cater to the growing demand and expansion in rail services under the National Development Plan 2018-2027. The 22000-class-railcar carriages will bring the overall size of the fleet to 275 railcars.

This €150 million investment will bring these new railcars into service in the Greater Dublin area in late 2022. This will increase commuter capacity by 34% at peak times. These railcars will benefit:

• Northern Commuter services (Drogheda/Dundalk to Dublin)
• Western Commuter services (Maynooth/M3 Parkway to Dublin)
• South-Western Commuter services (Heuston Commuter and Intercity services, and Newbridge/Hazelhatch to Grand Canal Dock).

Electric/battery-electric hybrid vehicles

A major development for Irish rail tenders was the tender process to order the largest and greenest fleet. This was the largest fleet in Irish public transport history made of up to 600 electric/battery-electric powered vehicles. It was over a 10-year timescale in a bid to ditch diesel. It will see up to 80% of all heavy rail journeys in Ireland, set for a potentially emissions-free future.

Graffiti removals

Most recently Irish rail tenders have had major graffiti incidents to deal with. Graffiti removal experts were required in order to cut costs caused by removing trains from service whilst they were cleaned.

Graffiti incidents have affected Irish rail tenders. They have not been able to deliver their full fleet of trains, particularly at peak times. Not only is the service affected for the users, but it also affects finances too. This is because money is lost when the service isn’t running and money is spent on removing the graffiti.

Electrical vehicle fast charging point at stations

Recently, Irish rail tenders required a contractor to manage fast charging points for electric vehicles at its railway stations. As the use of electric vehicles is increasing, Irish rail required the installation of charging points. Irish Rail currently has 43 standard charging points at station car parks across its network.

Irish rail tenders have had some major issues to deal with over the last couple of years. However, they have also celebrated success.

What do I need to include in my bid?

If you’re thinking about bidding on Irish rail tenders, it’s worth knowing what you should be including in your bid.

1. Health and safety contracts

You must demonstrate how you can deliver the contract whilst meeting the necessary health and safety standards. These are generally stated within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) specification.

2. Financial turnover

Your company’s financial turnover will be assessed in the PQQ stage. It consists of annual turnover, financial ratios and insurance.

3. Experience

No matter the industry you’re tendering for, you should always provide case studies of your experience. The buyer wants to know how you have dealt with similar situations in the past and what your methods are. You should always back up what you’re saying with evidence.

4. Qualifications and accreditations

When tendering for rail contracts you will require certain qualifications and accreditations.

5. Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)

This is when the buyer awards the contract to the bidder with the most value, not necessarily the cheapest bid. Other factors may include accessibility or quality.

6. Quality of your response

Your bid response is all about quality. You don’t want to submit a bid that is of poor quality. Your response should be direct, clear and persuasive. You must provide a detailed response whilst remaining clear and coherent.

Need help with a rail bid?

Our team of Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed know the trials and tribulations of writing a winning bid. We know you’ve got a lot on your plate and don’t always have the time to spare.

Our Bid Writers have an 87% success rate and over 60-years of bidding experience. We offer four bid writing solutions to suit your tendering needs.

Tender Ready

The Tender Ready programme is perfect for those who are completely new to tendering.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for UK rail contracts but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will review your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect rail contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. They’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response, that’s where Tender Mentor comes in.

Where to find rail contracts in the UK

So, know you know what you can do to get the best out of your bid. Next, you may be wondering where to find UK rail contracts?

Most tendering opportunities are posted across thousands of websites and portals across the UK. Searching for the right one for your business can turn into quite the headache.

Luckily for you, our Transport Tenders portal hosts hundreds of new opportunities in this industry from across the UK. Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload hundreds of live tenders daily from both the public and private sectors. You can filter results via keyword, budget, location and more. You no longer have to rely on inaccurate CPV codes. This means you’ll never miss out on an opportunity to grow your business again.

Below are previous Irish Rail tenders sourced on our Transport Tenders portal:

Arup IÉ 001 – Dart + Coastal – Advance Bridge Clearance Topographic Survey

Ove Arup & Partners Ireland (on behalf of Irish Rail) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

CME Building Maintenance

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Coastal Infrastructure Protection Programme – Multi-Disciplinary Consultant Services

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: £20,000,000

Installation, Testing and Repair of Electrical Services & Sub Systems

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: £12,500,000

Supply of Modbus TCP Remote I/O module (Lot 1) and Railway Computers (Lot 2)

Iarnród Eireann – Irish Rail – Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

On Transport Tenders, we post contracts for:

• Rail contracts
• Courier services
• Public transport
• Transport services
• Logistical planning consultancy
• Recycling logistics
• School taxi contracts
• Bus tenders
• and supply chain solutions.