Existing suppliers
Safety, sustainable service and supporting local economies are key to delivering a better rail service
We expect all our suppliers to support us in working safely and sustainably to deliver a simpler, better and greener railway that puts passengers and freight users first.
Every year, we spend around £7bn on goods, services and works and we’re committed to maximising the value delivered by each and every supplier. We typically work with about 4,000 suppliers regularly.
We want to make sure our railway is sustainable, resilient to climate change, and able to provide an excellent service for years to come. Find out more about our approach to sustainability.
Supporting local economies
We are committed to spending at least 33% of our annual spend with SMEs, in line with Government targets. Supporting SMEs to work on the railway helps increase competition, opportunities for efficiency, creativity, and innovation. Find out more on our dedicated SME page.
We ask suppliers to procure goods and services from SMEs and social enterprises, supporting local business and the local economy where possible. We also encourage suppliers to identify opportunities to recruit people from the local area and provide entry-level employment opportunities.
Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act (2023) comes into force on 24 February 2025. It will bring the biggest changes to public procurements in a generation and will replace the current Utilities Contracts Regulations.
As we’ll be bound by the Act, we are currently preparing our people, systems and processes for the changes. The Act will impact suppliers who participate in our procurements from 24 February 2025. To help our suppliers be ready for the changes, we are sharing relevant information and updates on our Procurement Act webpage. Suppliers should refer to this page over the coming weeks for the latest information.
Code of conduct
Our supplier code of conduct forms part of our contracts and applies to all our suppliers – those who work directly or indirectly for us. The code shares the standard of behaviour that is expected of us, and that we expect from our suppliers.
Fair payment
Network Rail is committed to being transparent about paying you on time. We expect prompt payments to flow down the supply chain.
How to access and use our systems and portals
Learning from lessons library
To help share knowledge across the industry, improve processes, reduce cost and speed-up the delivery of our projects, we’ve opened-up our ‘learning from lessons’ library to the entire industry. The library is an online repository of lessons, pictures, videos and documents from a wide range of projects and major programmes, including those of our delivery partners. It showcases best practice, but also highlights where we could do better so future projects can improve. You will need to register to request access to the learning from lessons library and complete a short training session if you want to upload content.
Register to request access to the library (sharepoint.com)
References
We supply references for organisations within our supply chain who are bidding for overseas contracts or for an export opportunity. To find out more, please read through the supplier references process document (136 KB, PDF).
If you require a reference, for overseas contracts, please contact RSC&PProcurementOperations@networkrail.co.uk. Requests should be submitted to the Employer’s Representative.