Continued Provision, Maintenance and Support of the RST Online Service

Description

Provision, maintenance and support of the existing RST Online service, including the continued operation of the bespoke online retail platform used by Rail Staff Travel and the maintenance of existing integrations between Worldline's proprietary ticket issuing system and the Rail Staff Travel Phoenix database. The contract provides continuity of the existing service pending future decisions regarding integration with a Great British Railways retail platform.

Key facts

Procedure

Direct award

Lots

1

Contact

procurement@raildeliverygroup.co.uk

Contract period

9 Jan 2027 → 8 Jan 2029

Value incl. VAT

£2.4m

Category

services

Awarded suppliers

• Worldline IT Services · GB-PPON-PZDC-4647-GCGJ · UKF16, GB

Ground given for limiting competition

The buyer’s own stated reason for awarding without open competition, as published. Their assertion, not a finding.

The contract is for the continued provision, maintenance and support of the existing RST Online platform. The service is dependent upon proprietary software, intellectual property rights and bespoke integrations owned and controlled by the incumbent supplier, Worldline. As a result, only the incumbent supplier is able to provide the required services without access to those exclusive rights. In addition, there is an absence of competition for technical reasons. The platform is integrated with the Rail Staff Travel Phoenix database and forms part of an established operational solution. Transition to an alternative supplier would require significant redevelopment, testing and implementation activity, creating disproportionate technical and operational risk to a business-critical service. The direct award is therefore justified on the grounds of exclusive rights and the absence of competition for technical reasons, whilst ensuring continuity of service pending longer-term decisions regarding future retail platform arrangements.