scrapthe503
On Moderation
The first rule of procurement: You already know what you want before you go into a marketplace.
The second rule of procurement: Word things appropriately so that potential rival bidders are unable to meet your requirements.
Don’t forget, some of the oldest tricks in the book include “Must be compatible with existing fleet”, where a different builder therefore can’t possibly bid.
You also have to go to tender on the basis that shareholders or the public can see evidence that you are assessing options. But you already are 95% sure on something, unless magically something absolutely beyond belief comes to the fore and then you assess that.
What alternative fleets are there that fit the bill? Answer, none that would be appropriate.
What is the precise wording? Well, you want the coaches to have lower ambient noise than Mark 3 coaches. Done. You want a train that can take HVO fuel. 68s I believe all do?
There was nothing about reducing Class 68 noise. Only that you can evidence the ambient noise inside the carriage is quieter than a 68 on a Mark 3. A 68 on a Mark 5 is quieter. Indeed, a unit is almost certainly not quieter as the engine rumbles away underneath. This is very clever wording.
Look at the delivery timeframe, and the entry into service. How does one achieve full crew knowledge of a new class, potentially, before the required entry date of early 2025? A Mark 5 cab is basically a 68. Chiltern drivers already do 68s.
Finally, the deadline being gone, consider how contracts work. Do you believe nothing is done until a contract is signed? No, you have bids coming in throughout the period of the tender notice until the deadline, and you start discarding some immediately. Once the deadline is reached, you then sign a ‘letter of intent’, which allows the bidding party to start a process in the knowledge that they are not wasting many £.
So because you have not had a news article placed before you explaining in granular detail how this will all go, does not mean something isn’t happening or hasn’t already happened. Many contract signing instances as recorded on camera are solely performative - the real contract signing happened ages ago.
Finally, Stourbridge is already being measured up to be a better, proper maintenance facility for this fleet. As this all rumbles on, expect a few units to drop out of the equation along with the Mark 3s.
