Procurement
Procurement opportunities and processes
We procure approximately £7bn worth of goods, works and services each year. Some of our procurements are managed by commercial and procurement colleagues in our Route Services function. These tend to be for things which are best provided for the whole company from a single team. For example, materials such as ballast and IT services.
Commercial and Procurement colleagues in our regions manage procurement which is specific to their region, for example, capital works.
We procure from a range of suppliers including SMEs and key delivery partners.
The 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 also impact suppliers who participate in our procurements from 24 February 2025. To help our suppliers be ready for the changes, we’ll be sharing relevant information and updates on our Procurement Act 2023 page. Suppliers should refer to this page over the coming weeks for the latest information.
Categories of goods, services and works
Most of our spending is split across different categories of goods, services and works. We manage these categories to reflect the supply market and our requirements, to ensure best value for money and to deliver a sustainable and resilient rail service.
Network Rail standards define which categories of goods, services or works need suppliers to be audited, and which are non-auditable. Our category scopes and codes match with RISQS codes, called RICCL codes (Railway Industry Commodity Classification List). This is so our direct suppliers can more easily understand when they need to register with RISQS to supply Network Rail in our auditable categories.
We’re currently refreshing how we share these codes and will give an update here shortly. For now, please look on RISQS Supplier FAQs to find out about the codes and auditable status.
Procurement pipeline
We’re committed to making our procurement pipeline visible. We recognise that sharing our future procurement requirements with our suppliers helps them to plan their business and resource appropriately to support our requirements.
Download procurement pipeline (210 KB, xlsx)
National contracts
Our contract register is updated each period. Here you will find details of all our national contracts and frameworks as well as who to speak to if you need more information about a particular contract.
Download the contract register (324 KB, xlsx)
Standard suite of contracts
We share our suite of contracts with all suppliers. More information, including a downloadable copy, can be found on the dedicated standard suite of contracts page.