OLE Monitoring for Class 730

General Information & Purpose of Engagement
WM Trains Ltd is undertaking this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 to engage the market regarding the supply and deployment of Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) systems across its Class 730/0 fleet.
WM Trains currently operates eight OLE monitoring systems fitted to its Class 350 fleet, delivered via Transmission Dynamics and funded through an asset owner initiative with Angel. This legacy deployment relies on an established, proprietary front-end user interface and database accessed collaboratively by WM Trains, Network Rail, and fleet maintainers to safeguard infrastructure and maintain operational continuity.
To enhance the coverage of its electrified routes, WM Trains requires an additional six monitoring systems for the Class 730/0 fleet. WM Trains considers that procuring an alternative, non-integrated solution would create fragmented operational dashboards, split data streams, and cause disproportionate technical difficulties in maintenance and real-time operations. Consequently, the core purpose of this PME is to directly test the market to establish whether any economic operator can realistically deliver the required functionality and integrate seamlessly with the existing proprietary setup without introducing disproportionate technical and operational difficulties. If the market engagement confirms that no compatible alternative can achieve this integration, WM Trains intends to formalise a direct award pursuant to Schedule 5, Paragraph 7 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Section 41 - Direct award in special cases: Additional or repeat goods, services or works).
Key Scope Overview & Technical Constraints
The planned requirement is strictly for the supply of OLE remote camera monitoring (RCM) and wireless accelerometer hardware, alongside the ongoing SaaS analytics subscription and the necessary engineering/design documentation. The physical...