Heavy-Duty Railway Flatcars

1.0 Background The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Cambridge, MA, is conducting market research to identify small business concerns for the design, manufacture, and supply of up to five (5) heavy-duty railroad flatcars. The initial requirement is for the design and initial production of railcars for field evaluation by the government before full-rate production is contracted separately at a future date. This Sources Sought Notice does not constitute a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice. 2.0 Description Contractors will be responsible for supporting the Government in the following work areas: The contractor will deliver a new railcar design (for government ownership) and will deliver up to five (5) fully-operational flatcars of this new design. This new heavy-duty flatcar is intended to replace the DODX 40000-series flatcars currently owned and in use by the Department of Defense. The DODX 40000-series flatcars provide the primary transportation capability for heavy, wide military tactical vehicles such as the M1 Abrams tank and M88 Recovery Vehicle. The U.S. Army intends to replace these railcars through a two-stage acquisition beginning with this initial design-build contract. The second stage will be a separate contract for full-rate production over a multi-year timeframe. General Description and Principal Dimensions The railcar shall be built as a wide-capable, heavy-duty flatcar with four two-axle trucks connected with a span bolster. Heavy-duty railcar QTTX 131025 was used as an example for this preferred truck and span bolster configuration. Deck length shall be a minimum of 68 feet and a maximum of 80 feet. Width over platform deck is to be the maximum width available in conformance with AAR Plate J, but not less than 10’5”. Tapering at the ends of the deck is permissible. Vehicle loads shall be restrained using chain tiedown assemblies anchored to recessed channels in the deck. Deck surface shall be flat and continuous (non-articulating, without swivel platforms, and without depressed center). Deck surface shall be steel. The minimum load carrying capacity shall be 160 tons. Gross rail load shall not exceed 65,750 pounds per axle when carrying two 80-ton heavy-tracked vehicles. The railcars shall be capable of loading U.S.-military vehicles under their own power via stationary railyard end ramps (circus loading). The railcars shall be able to load and unload using end or side ramps, without damage to railcar or lading, and to support as live loads: Tracked vehicles with individual weights as high as 80 tons evenly distributed over 14 road wheels (7 on each side) having a total wheelbase of 180” Wheeled vehicles with individual weights as high as 50 tons unevenly distributed on 5 axles over a total wheelbase of 315” with axles loads and spacing as follows: Axle 1: 11.5 tons Axle 2: 11.3 tons at 58.7” from Axle 1 Axle 3: 8.2 tons at 137.5” from Axle 2 Axle 4: 9.8 tons at 58.8” from Axle 3 Axle 5: 9.2 tons at 60” from Axle 4. (Notional wheeled vehicle profile based on PLS M1074A1 military vehicle.) Length of deck to be optimized to the maximum permissible up to 80 feet, given Plate J and minimum 10’5” width. Height of deck surface at end sills shall not exceed a nominal 51” with 48” deck height being optimum. No portion of the railcar, except safety appliances to the minimum extent mandated plus nominal ½” tolerance, shall project more than a nominal 1” above the deck surface. The railcar is exempt from raised handholds. Grab holes will be made available in their place. Truck performance shall be taken into account to eliminate truck hunting when moving loaded and empty. The initial production railcars shall be warrantied for design and workmanship for a period of one (1) year after delivery to the government. Design Intellectual Property Sharing All design intellectual property shall be released to the government for unrestricted modification and use in full railcar production through a separate contract at a later time. Upon railcar delivery, contractor shall provide copies of the fully editable, native electronic engineering design files reflecting as-built condition, non-editable (PDF) versions of the as-built plan set, and full manufacturing specifications reflecting as-built condition. Proposed Scheduling Requirements Period of performance for completion of this initial contract, including full design and delivery of up to five (5) railcars, shall not exceed 24 months. Full-rate production for this new railcar is expected to commence in 2028 through a separate contract. The government intends to use the railcar design delivered by this initial contract. The government plans to purchase approximately 100 heavy-duty flatcars per year each year beginning in 2028 and ending in 2032. 3.0 Submission Instructions Interested small business concerns must submit a written Statement of Capabilities of sufficient detail demonstrating their experience and have the ability to provide said services at multiple, simultaneous sites, nationwide as it relates to relevant past performance (previous or current experience for the past five (5) years). Capability information shall include: Contract number; Customer (Government agency, private industry); Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) name, telephone and fax numbers; contract value and type of contract; period of performance; and description of product/services. Information provided shall be detailed and shall show technical capabilities, knowledge, and expertise so the Government can assess the ability to provide the described services in each of the above stated work areas. All the information sought should be conveyed in no more than five (5) pages. Page size is set at 8 x 11, and text should be no smaller than 11 point. Each response must reference the Sources Sought title. Interested small businesses shall indicate their socio-economic small business size status (Total Small Business, 8(a) business development, historically underutilized business zone, service disabled veteran owned, small disadvantaged, or woman-owned) in the appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. As a result of recent changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19, small business concerns must ensure that their status certifications are up to date. Additionally, interested parties must provide answers to the questions below. There is no page limit related to the response for the questions below. Page size is set at 8 x 11, and text should be no smaller than 11 point. Interested parties must respond to this announcement in writing by January 20, 2023 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. Telephone requests will not be honored. All responses must be submitted via e-mail to Patricia Barnett at [email protected]. Electronic attachments to the e-mail should be submitted in Microsoft Office 2007 (or later) productivity application formats, or any format that can be imported by Microsoft Office. 4.0 Information Availability THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and is a market research tool to determine the availability and adequacy of potential small business sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and possible issuance of a Request for Proposal. The notice does not constitute a solicitation for bids, quotations, and proposals, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a competitive contract. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of response to this Sources Sought notice. The Government will not pay for any materials provided in response to this synopsis and submittals will not be returned to the sender. Submissions must be disclosable to the public or the submitter should provide a summary statement that can be disclosed to the public with fuller supporting information that is clearly marked as restricted. The Government will use customary means to safeguard proprietary information, but only when such information is (1) clearly marked as proprietary; (2) is, in fact, information that could not have been obtained from another party or source; and (3) is otherwise deserving of such treatment under standards and processes described in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Executive Order 12600. For information about the Volpe Center refer to the Volpe Center website at http://www.volpe.dot.gov. Questions 1. If your business were to design and manufacture the railcar described in this notice, are there any major problems recognized with the feasibility of the proposed characteristics as compared to general industry practice or regulations? 2. Is your business capable and interested in competing for this proposed contract for design and initial production of up to five (5) heavy-duty flatcars? Would your business intend to subcontract any part of the work? If so, which portions? 3. What would be the time period for the initial design and engineering phase of the project? What would be the time period for the manufacturing phase of the five (5) heavy-duty railcars? What would be the time period to manufacture a single heavy-duty rail car in production? Please comment on the feasibility of these questions based on a planned period of performance of 24 months. 4. Please provide an estimated cost of the design effort required for this railcar and an estimated, per railcar cost of the initial production for up to five (5) heavy-duty flatcars. Estimates provided in this notice will be used to inform government financial planning. Any estimate provided will not bind the vendor to that price in the future and will not be taken into account during any future competitive solicitation. 5. Is your business capable and interested in competing for the future, full production contract planned to begin in 2028? If so, please provide a per railcar cost estimate for the full-rate production. Any estimate provided will not bind the vendor to that price in the future and will not be taken into account during any future competitive solicitation. 6. Please comment on the planned, limited rate production in the original contract vs. a full rate production of approximately 100 railcars per year over a multi-year timeframe contract beginning in 2028. Does the planned rate of production affect your business’s interest in competing for the full-rate production? If possible, please generalize per car cost difference between this proposed gradual acquisition approach and a bulk purchase where the entire government railcar requirement is purchased over 1 to 3 years at a rate of 250 railcars per year. What rate of production is optimum? 7. Please comment on the feasibility of providing the design to the government for future production. Note that the future, full production contract will be a separate competitive solicitation. 8. Please comment on the feasibility of a one-year warranty period for the railcars. Are there any concerns or limitations to a one-year warranty period?