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 installation and fitment to the Class 730/0 fleet will be undertaken separately by the fleet maintainer/OEM acting as the asset design authority.

To satisfy operational, safety, and regulatory requirements, any proposed system must meet the following mandatory criteria:

1. Database & System Integration: All data generated by the Class 730 OLE systems must integrate fully and directly into the existing Class 350 OLE monitoring database.

2. Unified Front-End User Interface: The solution must provide a single, common front-end interface that aligns RCM imagery and sensor analytics to deliver real-time combined analytics throughout train operation, avoiding fragmented software suites.

3. Autonomous Defect Detection: The RCM system must autonomously identify and report dynamic OLE conditions, degradation, and infrastructure defects to designated stakeholders, with specific capability to identify and report on faulty dropper wires.

4. 5G Data Transmission: The solution must enable remote collection, processing, high-speed transfer, and review of dynamic OLE monitoring data utilising 5G capability.

5. Camera & Environmental Resilience: The camera system must be self-cleaning to prevent data and evidence loss, include a proven method for low-light conditions, and require no regular roof access for maintenance.

6. Physical & Systems Vehicle Integration: Roof-mounted equipment must be designed specifically for the Class 730 profile while strictly minimising physical and electrical integration into the host train network.

7. Rolling Stock Safety & Standards: The installation must fully comply with all relevant rolling stock standards and legislation, and must not adversely affect vehicle safety, reliability, maintainability, gauging, fire performance, EMC compatibility, or passenger service operations.

8. Engineering Deliverables & Approvals: The supplier must deliver all design, installation, commissioning, acceptance, and handover documentation required by the Infrastructure Manager (Network Rail), the TOC (WM Trains), the Fleet Maintainer (e.g. Siemens), and the ROSCO.

9. Maintenance & Calibration: The supplier must provide clear, documented maintenance, calibration, and ongoing technical support requirements for the installed system.

10. Data Ownership & Governance: All operational, diagnostic, and raw condition data generated across the fleet must be jointly and unreservedly owned by WM Trains Ltd and Network Rail, with unrestricted sharing rights for designated maintainers.

Scope Clarification: For the avoidance of doubt, this procurement relates strictly to OLE condition monitoring interoperability and ingestion into the established OLE analytics database. WM Trains is not seeking multi-system train integration and will not review proposals detailing the ingestion of unrelated rolling stock subsystems (such as onboard CCTV, PIS, or general telematics) into an OLE platform.