South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority – Supertram, Life Extension of 25 Trams

Tender description

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to advise prospective suppliers of the upcoming market engagement for the refurbishment of 25 trams owned by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and to invite them to participate in a pre-tender market consultation exercise. The aim of the exercise is to provide early information and gain feedback to help inform the proposed procurement and contracting strategy. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is a formal partnership of councils that shapes policy and leads on decision-making. Formed in 2014, the constituent members of the Mayoral Combined Authority are Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster councils. SYMCA own the South Yorkshire Supertram System, which commenced operation in 1994. YMCA is now embarking on wide ranging renewal programme of Supertram that will see significant investment and improvement across all aspects of the system over the coming years. a. South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority owns a fleet of 25 Siemens trams which were manufactured in 1996. The trams are 37m in length and comprise 3 cars fastened together with 4 bogies. b. These vehicles have suffered varying degrees of corrosion to the underframe structure and require repair. The process is likely to involve removal of most of the vehicle interiors and underframe equipment, including removal of the wooden floors. c. A small number of electrical and mechanical improvements and repairs are intended to be included, taking advantage of the stripped-down nature of the vehicle. Lot 1: MARKET ENGAGEMENT EVENT a. This document and the planned subsequent market engagement events are in advance of any procurement competition with the aim of: • Informing the market of the current requirements, scope, and timescales for the repairs. • To gain insights into the capabilities of the repair market. • To understand how the market believes the desired outcomes could be achieved from them gaining an awareness of the intended work scope and the aspirations for the Supertram system. This includes technical and commercial/procurement considerations. • To understand challenges and concerns within the industry and how SYMCA may shape work packages to suit the market. • To gauge market appetite for the intended scope of services. • To gain an appreciation of expectations of commercial terms and conditions associated with this type of service. b. Following receipt of registration of interest (details below) interested parties will receive a questionnaire which they are requested to complete and return by the date indicated therein. c. The meeting will include a presentation summary of the project and a Q&A session for questions by both the Authority and the registered party. A visit to the depot to inspect typical trams will also be organised. The meeting will take place between 26th February and 1st March 2024. Further details will be provided following registering of interest. d. Please register your interest for the event by sending a message via the ProContract messaging platform including the name and contact details for the proposed attendees (max 2 per organisation) and whether you wish to attend in person or online. 3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION a. Interested parties will not be prejudiced by any response or failure to attend the market engagement event and response to this notice does not guarantee any invitation to participate in any future public procurement process that SYMCA may conduct. b. At this stage, this is purely a market engagement exercise. Any subsequent procurement will be advertised separately and all organisations wishing to participate must respond to the contract notice advertising the procurement when this is published. The responses received during the market analysis exercise will not be considered as part of any future bid response. The procurement remains subject to approval. c. This notice does not constitute a call for competition to procure any services for SYMCA and SYMCA is not bound to accept any proposals offered. SYMCA is not liable for any costs, fees or expenses incurred by any party participating in the market engagement event. Any procurement of any services by SYMCA in due course will be carried out strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. d. SYMCA does not intend to be bound by any information at this stage and makes no commitment to incorporate any recommendations or suggestions within the final procurement documents.