Supply of Ballast Cleaning Ancillary Machinery

Description

Translink wishes to procure on-track machinery to support automatic ballast cleaning on its rail network. The ballast cleaning programme aims to undertake rehabilitation of the Northern Ireland Railways network (circa 300 track miles) over a 15-20-year period. It is anticipated that Automatic Ballast Hoppers, a Tamper, a Regulator and a Ballast plough will be required to support the Ballast Cleaning System. A separate notice has been published for the procurement of the Ballast Cleaning System – Reference 2023/S 000-018060. This notice is to initiate an early market engagement exercise. It does not indicate the start of any formal procurement exercise. The vehicles and equipment must be compatible with the existing and suitable for Northern Ireland gauge (1600mm) track. Translink are seeking expressions of interest from perspective suppliers to provide the Authority with the opportunity to gain feedback from the market. Lot 1: Before embarking on a competitive tender process, Translink wishes to engage with the market place to gather intelligence which will inform the sourcing strategy for this contract and thus, the procurement process. It is anticipated that this procurement exercise will be divided into lots which will be confirmed after the pre market engagement information gathering. We are seeking to engage with experienced manufacturers of Ballast On-Track Machinery and Equipment, which are capable of fulfilling all the requirements as stated within Section II.1.4 of this notice. Interested suppliers are requested to register their interest by emailing their contact details to Andrew McEvoy at andrew.mcevoy@translink.co.uk no later than 3pm on 29/09/2023. Additional information: Anticipated contract value of up to £30m is forecast for this requirement. (please note, these figures are for guidance only). Suppliers registering their interest in participating in this exercise should note that: 1. This Notice is to initiate a market engagement and. information gathering exercise and does not indicate the start of a procurement exercise. It is instead intended to act as an informal.. market research document providing a brief synopsis of Translinks’ future requirements. This document is not intended to provide a. definitive list of requirements. 2. This document is not a tender specification nor request for quotation.. Translink is merely investigating market opportunities at this stage without entering into any contractual or financial commitments. 3.. Please note, progress in the project will be subject to the availability and timing of funding. If this requirement is given financial approval,. it will be tendered under the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016. Any documents, discussions, presentations, demonstrations, or. clarifications submitted for. this Market Research will not be considered as any part of the tender exercise. If Translink does decide to. proceed with a competitive tender process, a separate detailed tender specification document will be produced as part of that process.. 4. Nothing in this advertisement or any other documents or information provided by Translink or any of its advisers or agents is to be. construed as implying a commitment by Translink to place any Contract, now or in the future with any participating supplier in respect. of the requirement under. Consideration. 5. Translink takes no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken, costs incurred or. commitments made by interested parties in responding to this notice or by being involved in any subsequent discussions in this market. engagement and information gathering exercise. 6. At this stage it is not possible to give an accurate timeframe for this requirement..