Tender
Translink tenders two engineering services lots on quality alone
By Staff Writer | 05-09-2026
Translink has tendered a two lot infrastructure professional services framework covering permanent way work and civil and structural engineering. Expressions of interest close on 1 October 2026. The tender notice was published at 12:42pm on 4 September 2026 and the framework is due to start on 1 April 2027.
The procurement runs as a selective competitive flexible procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, with Northern Irish devolved regulations applying and the utilities special regime engaged. The notice describes the route in one line: a two stage process, an invitation to participate followed by an invitation to tender.
The two lots
Lot 1 Permanent-Way & Associated Services - This Lot will be for the delivery of professional services related to permanent way infrastructure projects and maintenance.
Translink, tender notice
Lot 2 covers professional services for civil engineering and structures projects. The classification codes on both lots are identical and cover civil engineering consultancy, structural engineering consultancy, engineering design services for the construction of civil engineering works, and railway engineering services. Both lots are marked as suitable for small and medium sized enterprises.
The notice publishes 78,000,000 pounds as a gross figure for the framework and 39,000,000 pounds as a gross figure for each lot. No amount excluding value added tax appears anywhere on the release, at framework or at lot level. This desk publishes values excluding value added tax, so no value is carried on the card for this item rather than a gross figure that cannot be compared with the net figures on the others.
Two equal lots at 39,000,000 pounds gross is a straight split rather than a weighted one, which suggests the buyer is not yet distinguishing between the two disciplines by expected spend.
Scored on technical questions
The award criteria recorded against both lots consist of a single quality criterion, technical questions, weighted at 100 per cent. No price criterion appears against either lot. On a two stage route that is consistent with selection at the participation stage being made on quality, with commercial terms coming at the invitation to tender, but the notice does not say so and no such reading is asserted here.
Dates and term
Enquiries close on 24 September 2026. Expressions of interest close at 23:59 on 1 October 2026. The award period on the record ends on 1 March 2027. The framework runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2031, a four year initial term, with a maximum extent date of 31 March 2035. The renewal record describes that as four years with no single extension greater than two years. The notice also records that the procurement recurs, with the next occurrence given from 1 June 2030.
Submissions go through the Northern Ireland electronic tendering portal. The buyer is recorded at Great Victoria Street, Belfast, and is classified as a public undertaking. The notice states that no engagement notice was published because preliminary market engagement was conducted in November and December 2025.
The notice does not publish how many suppliers will be appointed to each lot, whether a bidder may hold places on both, the call off mechanism, or the split of the framework between projects and maintenance. It does not say what the technical questions cover or how they are weighted between themselves, and it gives no figure excluding value added tax for either lot. Firms considering a bid have nine days from the enquiry deadline to the expression of interest deadline, which is the tightest date on the notice.