Railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock and associated parts

Description

As part of its fleet replacement programme, Nexus wishes to procure a new fleet of light rail electric multiple units (New Fleet) to replace its existing Metrocar fleet (Existing Fleet), a maintainer for the new and existing fleets and new depot facilities. The successful bidder will be responsible for the design, construction, testing and delivery of the new fleet pursuant to a manufacturing and supply agreement (MSA). It will enter into a Metrocar Maintenance Agreement (MMA) for maintenance of the existing fleet until removed from service and a train services agreement (TSA) for long-term maintenance of the new fleet including heavy/light maintenance and daily servicing for the design life of the new fleet. It will provide trains to Nexus (as the metro operator) that are ready and safe for entry into service each day. The successful tenderer will also be required to design, construct and deliver new maintenance facilities under a depot construction contract (DCC). As part of its fleet replacement programme, the Tyne and Wear Transport Executive trading as Nexus wishes to procure a new fleet of Light Rail EMU’s to replace its existing life-expired Metrocar fleet, contracts for the maintenance of the new and existing fleets and new depot facilities. Nexus owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro on behalf of the 5 local authorities in the Tyne and Wear area. The procurement of the new fleet is a key objective of the metro and local rail strategy that has been developed to cover the North East Combined Authority (NECA) area. The Metro is one of the UK's busiest light rail systems outside London. The moving annual average shows a ridership of around 37 000 000 (as at December 2017), making Metro a significant part of the area’s public transport network. The existing fleet is comprised of 90 class-599 Metrocars designed and built by Metro-Cammell in the late 1970s and introduced into passenger service between 1980 and 1982. The Metro system has 60 stations which Nexus owns or occupies and approximately 78 km of track on which 450 services operate each weekday. During peak periods Metrocars run up to every 3 minutes in the central Newcastle to Gateshead corridor. Metro operations returned in house to Nexus following the expiry of a 7-year concession to DB Regio Tyneand Wear Ltd (DBTW) on 31.3.2017. It is anticipated that Nexus will continue operation of Metro in house until a new fleet is introduced and steady-state operations are achieved in around 2024 or 2025. The new fleet, which will replace the existing fleet, is to be suitable for operation on the Metro Network (including the Network Rail owned and maintained infrastructure) and in particular must comply with the specific physical, mechanical and environmental characteristics and restrictions of the Network. Drafts of all proposed contract documents will be made available to pre-qualified Applicants with the ITN. Underthe MSA, the successful tenderer will be responsible for: — the design, construction, homologation (including any type of approval), testing, commissioning and delivery of the new fleet, — provision, as part of the design process, of a mock-up of a section of the new train including the driver's cab, a representative section of the saloon area (including sections providing for wheelchair access) and the train exterior, — the design, construction, testing, commissioning and delivery of a simulator to assist with driver training. Under the MMA and TSA, the successful tenderer will be responsible for: — carrying out all maintenance and repair works and servicing requirements on the Existing Fleet up to the removal of the existing fleet from passenger service, — disposal of the existing fleet, — ensuring an efficient transition of maintenance services from the existing fleet to the new fleet as the new trains are accepted and introduced into passenger carrying service, — long term maintenance of the new fleet throughout the intended design-life of those vehicles, including responsibility for heavy maintenance and any modifications required, — making trains available that operate efficiently and robustly on the Metro Network, supplying a step change in Metro availability and performance. The transfer of responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the existing fleet from Nexus to the successful tenderer will trigger a transfer of maintenance staff from NEMOL to the successful tenderer under TUPE. Tenderers will be expected to satisfy themselves of the existence and extent of any TUPE rights through their own due diligence. Relevant employee information (including pension details) will be made available to pre-qualified tenderers at the ITN stage. Under the DCC, the successful tenderer will be responsible for the design, construction and delivery of the new maintenance facilities on the existing Depot site.