Chiltern Rail - Train Planning & Rostering System Replacement

Chiltern Railways is seeking to procure supplier-hosted software solutions and associated services to replace its existing Train Planning and Rostering systems. The procurement is divided into two Lots:

Lot 1 - Train Planning System; and

Lot 2 - Rostering System.

Lot 1 is for the provision, implementation, hosting, support and maintenance of a Train Planning System. The solution is required to support train planning and diagramming activities, including the creation, import, editing, validation, management and publication of timetables, schedules, rolling stock diagrams and traincrew diagrams. The solution must support planning data management, timetable change management, scenario modelling, auditability, version control, reporting, user permissions and secure data exchange with relevant operational and business systems.

Lot 2 is for the provision, implementation, hosting, support and maintenance of a Rostering System. The solution is required to support base, weekly and daily rostering for relevant staff groups, including traincrew, station staff and fleet/engineering staff. The solution must support roster creation, validation, publication and management, allocation of staff to duties, management of leave, overtime, shift swaps, fatigue and risk assessment, identification of uncovered turns and roster coverage gaps, employee self-service, reporting, auditability, user permissions and secure data exchange with relevant operational and business systems.

For each Lot, the successful supplier will be required to provide a fully managed, vendor-hosted solution. This includes the software, hosting, configuration, implementation, data migration, integration, testing, training, change management, documentation, support, maintenance, updates, service management, information security, business continuity, disaster recovery, contract management and exit assistance required to deliver and operate the relevant solution.

Bidders may participate in respect of Lot 1, Lot 2, or both Lots. Chiltern Railways may award Lot 1 and Lot 2 to different suppliers or may award both Lots to the same supplier in accordance with the procurement documents and award methodology.

The estimated value of Lot 1 is £140,000 to £430,000 per annum and £1,000,000 to £3,000,000 over the full contract term, including any optional extension period.

The estimated value of Lot 2 is £210,000 to £500,000 per annum and £1,500,000 to £3,500,000 over the full contract term, including any optional extension period.

The estimated combined value of Lot 1 and Lot 2 is £2,500,000 to £6,500,000 excluding VAT over the full contract term, including any optional extension period.

The estimated contract start date is 26 July 2027. The indicative operational go-live date is 1 March 2028, being the date from which the system is expected to start being rolled out and used by Chiltern Railways staff. The indicative implementation complete date is 30 June 2028, being the date by which the system is expected to be fully implemented, tested, accepted where applicable, ready for and/or used in live operational production, and to have completed dual running with the incumbent tools.

The initial contract term is expected to be 60 months, with an option for Chiltern Railways to extend for a further period or periods of up to 24 months in total.