Supply of Railway Ballast to Northern Ireland Railways

Tender description

Translink is the brand name for the public transport operating companies in Northern Ireland. These include the companies of Ulsterbus, Metro, Northern Ireland Railways Company Limited and NITHC. NI Railways intend to appoint a Contractor under a supply contract to supply railway ballast and stone across the NI Railways network. Please note the PQQ Submission return date of 1500 hours on Thursday 12 January 2012. The NI Railways Network covers approximately 300 route miles on the following lines: • Belfast to Derry • Belfast to Border • Belfast to Bangor • Belfast to Larne • Coleraine to Portrush • Antrim to Lisburn The NI Railways will require supply of full-spec ballast stone (The Micro Deval Attrition (MDA) shall not exceed 7% using the test specified in BS EN 1097 Part 1), reduced-spec ballast stone and general civil engineering stone. The ballast shall be hard, durable, natural stone of a quality that satisfies the following requirements. The ballast must be angular in shape with all dimensions nearly equal. The ballast must be free from dust, chemical contamination and cohesive particles. The supply contract is run for a single year with an option of three single year extensions. Supplies are expected to start under this contract in March 2012.