THRE0064 - Provision of Depot Technical Expertise

The Department is seeking external technical advice and assistance to undertake a scoping study of rail maintenance depot capacity on the HS1 route and classic network London region for international rail services, supporting Ministers' agenda to facilitate the growth of international rail. We are preparing advice for Ministers on options to enable this growth, with depot capacity having been identified by industry as one of the key constraints on the growth of international rail services, given the limited capacity available at the single current facility, Temple Mills Depot, which is leased and operated by Eurostar but ultimately owned by DfT. This study requires highly specialist, technical rail external expertise, which is not available within DfT. This is a high priority for Ministers, and we are targeting Ministerial decisions by June.