Installation of Fibre-Optic Cable and Provision of a Managed Data Service to Private Users along the Route of High Speed One
HS1 Ltd holds the concession from government to operate, manage and maintain the high-speed railway infrastructure that runs from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel until December 2040.
The route is 109km long and a significant amount of the route (about 30km) runs through tunnels. It forms a direct, secure, operational rail corridor between the Channel Tunnel and St. Pancras international station, with equipment rooms and power available across the route.
The route is shown in figure 1 below
Figure 1 HS1 Route
HS1 is undertaking significant cable installations in the tunnels in 2018 and 2019 as part of another project and is investigating opportunities that this will create to partner with a company to install aseparate fibre – optic cable along the length of the route to provide dark or lit fibre connectivity between London and the Channel Tunnel.
The work would be undertaken as part of the installation works in the tunnels. There is containment in the tunnels and along the route that could be used to install fibre.
HS1 is looking to partner with a suitable company who would be interested in installing the fibre, marketing, selling andthen managing the data services. HS1 would provide access to the route to install and maintain the fibre, and would work with the supplier to create the best way to install the fibre. In return for access to the route, HS1 would expect to receive some form of revenue, be that an annual rental, or revenue share backed by some form of minimum guarantee. HS1 is will be actively involved in managing the installation of the fibre, working with the supplier, and after that would take a passive role with the fibre provider responsible for all activities associated with selling and managing the data services.
HS1 is open to exploring a range of commercial models that the supplier might propose and would be prepared to fund all or part of the installation.
HS1 is looking to partner with a fibre provider that can demonstrate a proven record of successfully providing these types of services in the UK.
Suppliers are invited to submit their Expressions of Interest (EOI)
EOIs to be addressed to . These should include:
1)Company background and details of your experience of this type of work, including any experience of working in a railway environment
2)A short summary outlining the benefits to HS1 of partnering with yourselves.
3)A high-level overview of your technical deployment to bring the service into operation
4)Any key operationalor infrastructure dependencies
5)Any additional commercial opportunities access to HS1 infrastructure and estate might provide.
Timescales and Next Steps
EOIs should be submitted by the 1st February 2018.
HS1 will consider EOIs and contact selected organisations to commence the Request for Proposal (RFP) with a view to selecting a partner to work with in April/May 2018.
HS1 will consider the following when shortlisting.
1)Technical expertise
2)Rail experience
3)Proven capability in providing data services
4)Company history and experience
HS1 Procurement
10 January 2018