22--Purchase and Transportation of Rail Cars

The United States Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), in supporting the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), intends to solicit on a non-competitive basis, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302 under the statutory authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), to purchase and transport three multi-level passenger cars to the rail yard in Avondale, Colorado. The equipment to be purchased has been involved in accidents and can no longer be used in service. There is a now a need to test multi-level equipment as it has become very popular among busy commuter rail systems. By testing these cars, the Volpe Center will gain the experience that will influence future rail crashworthiness and safety. A complete statement of work will be set forth in the Request for Quotation (RFQ). RFQ issuance will be on or about July 18, 2006. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 336510 and the small business size standard is 1,000 employees. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 12, Commercial Items and FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Interested firms must submit a written capability statement to the above named point of contact providing clear and convincing evidence of the firms? capability to provide the required equipment. Written capability statements must be submitted within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of publication of this synopsis. Responses received after fifteen (15) calendar days or without the required documentation will be considered non-responsive and will not be considered. Such documentation will be utilized solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. The Government will not pay for any documentation provided in response to this synopsis and documentation received will not be returned to the sender. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement on a full and open competitive basis, based upon responses received to the synopsis, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Telephone calls made in place of the required documentation will not be accepted. The URL of the Volpe Center Acquisition Management Division home page is: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/procure/index.html NOTE: All contractors must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to receive award from a DOT Agency. Contractors may access the site at http://www.ccr.gov to register and/or obtain information about the registration process. Additionally, solicitation Representation and Certifications are no longer provided within the solicitation and must be submitted on-line through On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). ORCA is a web based system that centralizes and standardizes the collection, storage and viewing of the Representations and Certifications required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Potential offerors are highly encouraged to complete the on-line provisions within the Representations and Certifications at https://orca.bpn.gov. The following notice is provided for informational purposes for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Short-Term Lending Program (STLP) offers working capital financing in the form of lines of credit to finance accounts receivable for transportation related contracts. Maximum line of credit is $750,000 with interest at the prime rate, as published daily in the Wall Street Journal, plus 1.75 percent. For further information, call DOT Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at (800)532-1169 or visit their website at http://osdbuweb.dot.gov.