The scale of the contract is such that it will almost certainly be one of the biggest orders ever placed in the UK for station escalators.
A notice has been placed in the Official Journal of the European Union seeking expressions of interest for the design, manufacture, installation and long-term maintenance of over 100 escalators. The contract is worth up to £190 million.
Escalators on London's transport network operate for over 18 hours a day and are intensively used so need to be built to last. The cost of designing, building and maintaining a single escalator is over £1 million. TfL and Crossrail are undertaking a joint procurement for this major escalator order to realise significant cost savings that would not otherwise be achieved if separate, smaller orders were placed. Savings will also be realised by the adoption of a more standard escalator design across TfL and Crossrail.
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Construction of the new Crossrail stations in central London is underway and the first of the main construction contracts will be awarded this summer. The contract covers the provision of escalators for Crossrail stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel and for stations across the Tube network.
It is envisaged that around 60 escalators will be required for the Crossrail stations in central London with around 45 escalators required for London Underground’s major escalator replacement programme.
The contract is also open to the whole TfL group and could be extended further to meet the future needs of Docklands Light Railway, London Overground as well as Tube maintenance firm Tube Lines.
Andy Mitchell, Crossrail Programme Director, said: "2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the first escalator being installed on the Tube network at Earl's Court. Every day millions of passengers on London’s transport network are reliant on escalators to get them to and from station platforms. Crossrail will carry over 200 million passengers each year when it opens and escalators will play a crucial role in getting passengers into the massive new stations and onto trains that will whisk them across London.
"During the coming years, Crossrail and London Underground could need over 100 new escalators and this contract is likely to be the UK's largest single order for station escalators. A joint procurement process is being undertaken by Crossrail and TfL with the aim of achieving significant cost savings that would not otherwise be realised if separate smaller orders were placed."
Under the contract, installation of new escalators for the Tube network is due to begin in late 2013 with work underway from 2015 at the Crossrail stations. The Invitation to Tender will be issued later this year. The closing date for expressions of interest is 13 July 2011.
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