London Overground 3 Concession Agreement

Concepts

• public transport services by railways
• london overground
• process agreement
• london overground revenue
• london limited
• executed process agreements
• process agreements
• different process agreements
• london overground 3 concession agreement
• london overgrounds high customer satisfaction

Location

London and Greater London, over routes operated by the current concessionaire

Description

The contract is a new concession agreement for London Overground (LO3). The contract will cover all aspects of train and passenger service operations over the LO3 network.

Total Quantity or Scope

Established in 2007, London Overground took over the Silverlink metro routes and brought a suburban rail network within the TfL group, such suburban rail network serving London and its environs. TfL has since invested significantly in rebuilding and refurbishing a wide range of stations, as well as expanding services further with the devolution of West Anglia services in 2015 and the extension to Barking Riverside in 2022. London Overground has continued to be a significant success for London with passenger numbers already recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and it is expected to see continued growth throughout the course of the next concession. RfL is seeking an operator to help achieve its vision for the London Overground 3 concession, which is to further optimise and improve the already high performing and efficient railway. To support this vision, five key objectives for the operation of the London Overground have been identified. These are: • Ensure customers and staff are safe and secure on the London Overground network every day; • Deliver fair working conditions, be inclusive, and represent the communities London Overground serves; • Collaborate with industry partners to maintain London Overground's high customer satisfaction, while building trust and caring for customers' needs today and in the future; • Achieve best value for money for TfL by maximising London Overground revenue and controlling costs without compromising quality; and • Improve environmental and sustainability outcomes across London Overground to support TfL's goal of net zero carbon. The successful Operator must support these objectives and share RfL's ambitious vision. Additional information: In order to be eligible to receive the procurement documents, each prospective respondent will be required to agree and enter into a Process Agreement with Rail for London Limited (RfL) in relation to various matters relating to the conduct and confidentiality of the procurement process. The forms of Process Agreement are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, by contacting Transport for London (TfL)/RfL at the email address set out above. As soon as reasonably practicable following receipt of a request from a prospective respondent, RfL will send that prospective respondent a copy of the template Process Agreement via email. The Process Agreement should be executed by the prospective respondent and its or their respective parent(s) in the form provided by TfL/RfL, subject only to such amendments which are consistent with that prospective respondent's proposed bidding structure at the time the Process Agreement is executed. Executed Process Agreements must be returned by email to the email address set out above. Potential respondents must note that RfL will not extend the timescales for responding to the Supplier Questionnaire (SQ) because the potential respondent delays in requesting the Process Agreement or delays in returning that Process Agreement (including, but not limited to, if a potential respondent is unwilling to sign the Process Agreement in the form provided by RfL) and accordingly is delayed in receiving the SQ. Potential respondents are therefore strongly discouraged from seeking to amend the form of Process Agreement and, as noted above, may only propose amendments which are consistent with that prospective respondent's proposed bidding structure at the time the Process Agreement is executed. This does not mean that a prospective respondent must know its final bidding structure at the time of signing the Process Agreement (albeit RfL expects the structure and any special purpose company to be known and identified when the SQ response is submitted). If a consortium approach is proposed, each member of the consortium (and their respective parent(s)) must be or become party to a Process Agreement. That could be different Process Agreements for each consortium member (and its or their respective parent(s)). Alternatively, new or additional consortium member(s) (and its or their respective parent(s)) may, by way of an accession agreement in a form specified by RfL, become party to an existing Process Agreement. The relevant form of accession agreement is appended to the Process Agreement. In any event, the prospective respondent's proposed special purpose company (which if being used will become the operator if successful in the procurement process) must accede and become party to the Process Agreement prior to that prospective respondent submitting its SQ response. The relevant form of accession agreement is appended to the Process Agreement. Once a prospective respondent has returned a fully executed counterpart of the Process Agreement and a counterpart of the Process Agreement has been fully executed for and on behalf of RfL, that prospective respondent will be provided with the procurement documentation, instructions for responding and instructions on how to register on RfL's e-tendering platform, SAP Ariba. Prospective respondents must then complete the registration process on SAP Ariba to be able to participate in the London Overground 3 SQ process. Once access has been granted to SAP Ariba, the procurement documents relating to the SQ stage of the procurement will also be available in full and without restrictions on the SAP Ariba link provided. Respondents should familiarise themselves with all of the procurement documents made available to them relating to the SQ stage of the procurement process. If a prospective respondent has any problems accessing SAP Ariba, please contact TfL via the details below: TfLRailProcurements@tfl.gov.uk Once access has been granted to SAP Ariba, access to the SQ documentation will be via the SAP Ariba platform following the steps set out at V1.3(n). In addition, once access has been granted to SAP Ariba, unless otherwise expressly requested by RfL all communications must be made via SAP Ariba and not via the email address set out above. Full details on accessing SAP Ariba and the procurement documents more generally can be found in V1.3. Tenders (including SQ responses) must be sent electronically via the SAP Ariba platform and in accordance with the SQ requirements.

Renewal Options

The contract is expected to be for an approximate initial period of 8 years with an option for RfL to extend the period by up to approximately twenty four (24) months and a separate option for RfL to extend the period by up to approximately seven (7) months.

CPV Codes

• 60210000 - Public transport services by railways

Indicators

• This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
• Options are available.
• Renewals are not available.
• Financial restrictions apply.
• Professional qualifications are sought.
• Technical restrictions apply.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Respondents should note the following: (a) This procurement, in spite of the description of procedure at IV.1.1 as a negotiated procedure with prior call for competition, is not a negotiated procedure under the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 but is organised as a procurement and conducted in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road (Regulation 1370) as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 (Public Service Obligations in Transport) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (the Regulation 1370 Amendment Regulations). (b) Regulation 1370 and the Regulation 1370 Amendment Regulations were revoked under paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 of The Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023 (the PSO Regulations). However, regulation 28(2) of the PSO Regulations provides that in relation to any procedure for the award of a public service contract that has commenced before 25 December 2023, Regulation 1370 and the Regulation 1370 Amendment Regulations are to continue to apply as they were in force immediately before 25 December 2023. This includes (at regulation 28(3) of the PSO Regulations) an information notice having been published under Article 7(2) of Regulation 1370 or any form of advertisement seeking offers or expressions of interest having been published. (c) On 3 April 2023, a notice (2023/S 000-009694) was published in relation to London Overground 3 which is the subject of this notice (in addition to Docklands Light Railway and the Elizabeth Line which formed part of the same notice). This was therefore published prior to the 25 December 2023 date referred to in regulation 28(2) of the PSO Regulations. Accordingly, Regulation 1370 (as amended by the Regulation 1370 Amendment Regulations) apply to this procurement. (d) This Contract Notice is being issued to make the market aware of the launch of the SQ stage of the London Overground 3 procurement. (e) The description provided in II.1.4 and the scope described in section II.2.4 represent the current anticipated requirements of RfL for the London Overground 3 concession. RfL reserves the right to amend the description and/or the scope and/or adjust the duration of the contract as a result of emerging requirements. (f) The duration of the contract stated in section II.2.7 is an estimate based on an initial contract period of 8 years with an extension of up to twenty four (24) months (26 railway reporting periods) and a separate extension for up to approximately seven (7) months (7 railway reporting periods). Any contract let by RfL may contain provisions that the contract may be extended for the specified period and on the terms of the contract. (g) Interested respondents must complete the SQ which can be obtained via the SAP Ariba portal subject to the interested respondent first executing a Process Agreement with RfL in the prescribed form. Further information on the process of accessing SAP Ariba is included at (n) below. Respondents must note that any expression of interest submitted in response to the Prior Information Notice for these services does not apply to this contract notice and the procedure in I.3 and (n) must be followed in order to access the SQ. (h) A response to this contract notice does not guarantee that an entity will be invited to tender. The process for selection of bidders to be invited to tender is set out in the SQ and procurement documents. (i) The award process may be terminated or suspended at any time without cost or liability to RfL, TfL or any other party. (j) Neither RfL nor TfL binds itself to enter into any contract arising out of the procedures envisaged by this notice. No contractual rights express or implied arise out of this notice or the procedures envisaged by it. (k) RfL reserves the right to vary the procedure relating to the conduct of the award process and to require further information from respondents. (l) Potential bidders shall be solely responsible for any costs which they incur as a result of responding to this notice and participating in any aspect of the procurement process described in this contract notice. (m) The conduct of this procurement is governed by Regulation 1370 (as amended by the Regulation 1370 Amendment Regulations). If TfL decides to award a new concession agreement, it will be awarded in accordance with Article 5(3) of Regulation 1370. (n) Instructions of accessing SAP Ariba and Procurement Documents. To access the procurement documents on SAP Ariba, prospective respondents shall express their interest in participating in response to this Contract Notice by emailing TfLRailProcurements@tfl.gov.uk.Upon receipt of the request, RfL will send the Process Agreement to the Respondent via TfLRailProcurements@tfl.gov.uk. The Respondent shall return an executed Process Agreement to TfLRailProcurements@tfl.gov.uk. Upon receipt of the executed Process Agreement, RfL will grant access to Respondents to the following documents via TfLRailProcurements@tfl.gov.uk a. Appendix 3 Instructions for Responding. b. TfL - Sourcing Event Participation - Guidance for Suppliers v.1.3.