U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Acquisition & Grants Services, RAD-30, Room 8222, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590

B -- RAILROAD WAYBILL SAMPLE DATA COLLECTION, EDITING AND ANALYSIS Contact Robert Carpenter, Contracting Officer, (202) 366-0564. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is seeking qualification statements from sources interested in collecting and editing prospective railroad Waybill Samples for calendar years 1997 through 2001. These services currently are being provided by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) under contract to the now defunct Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). FRA has become the successor contracting agency for this purpose, and has been assigned the previous contract No. ICC-94-C-0002 to administer through its expiration on December 31, 1996. Unless another qualified sources is available, it is anticipated that a ``sole source'' contract will be negotiated with the AAR for the follow-on requirement for years 1997 through 2001. The Waybill Sample is a yearly sample of carload waybills for terminated shipments by rail carriers. The Government requires that railroads submit waybill sample date if, in any of the three preceding years, they terminated on their lines at least 4,500 revenue carload. These railroads may file Waybill Sample information by using either: (1) authenticated copies of a sample of audited revenue waybills (the manual system) or (2) a computer generated sample containing specified information (the computerized system or MRI). The Waybill Sample identifies originating and terminating freight stations, the names of all railroads participating in the movement, the point of all railroad interchanges, the number of cars, the car types, the movement weight in hundredweights, the commodity and the freight revenue. The names of the shipper and consignee are not included in the data. Other data in the sample such as the origin and destination Freight Station Accounting Code (FSAC) and seven-digit Standard Transportation Commodity Code (STCC) may permit the identification of a shipper and consignee. Thus, the data in this raw form can disclose each railroad's significant customers and also the rate at which it transports the traffic. This information is proprietary and protected from release to the public. Data from the Railroad Waybill Sample are used as input to many government projects, analyses, and studies. Federal agencies (Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, etc) use the Waybill Sample as part of their information base. The Waybill Sample is also used by States as a major source of information for developing state transportation plans. In addition, non-government groups seek access to Waybill Sample data for such uses as market surveys, development of verified statements in Federal and State formal proceedings, forecast of rail equipment requirements, economic analysis and forecasts, academic research, etc. The contractor will also collect and summarize from non-sampled railroads the data required by 49 C.F.R. 1244.2(f). This data is an accounting for all rail traffic terminating in the United States that was not subject to sampling by the Waybill Sample collection process. The 1995 Waybill Sample is expected to contain approximately 500,000 records. In addition to editing the selected records, the contractor will add a number of fields to each record. These additional fields require that the contractor have access to a rail network model and a proper miling algorithm. The contractor will also need access to a number of industry reference files (IRF), such as, the Standard Transportation Commodity Codes (STCC), The Standard Point Location Code (SPLC), files giving the physical characteristics of rail cars, and a number of different geographic codes; i.e., BEA, county and state FIPS, and census regions. The incumbent contractor (AAR) owns the computer programs that are being used currently to edit the sample. AAR also holds the copyrights to most of the IRFs, and the American Trucking Association owns the copyright on the SPLC. The rail network model currently being used, and miling algorithm are owned by ALK Associates, Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey. The FRA has developed a rail network model that may be utilized in place of the currently used model; however, if the contractor uses this alternative government-owned model, a separate miling algorithm will be required. It is the responsibility of the contractor to make all arrangements necessary for access to the required Industry Reference Files (IRF). The contractor assumes all costs of using the required IRFs and any other copyrighted materials. The sample is received as a mix of hardcopy waybills and computer selected records. For 1995, less than 3 percent of the records were received as hardcopy waybills requiring the contractor to enter the data manually. The Government does not expect this mix to change over the next five years; however, the nation's railroads decide on the which sampling method to use, and can switch the sampling method with prior Government approval. The waybill processing cycle covers a 19-month period. The 1997 waybill sample processing cycle starts January 1, 1997 and ends July 30, 1998. This cycle covers those movements with waybill dates on or before December 14, 1997 that has not been reported in a previous waybill sample. Movements that fall within this period are included as long as they terminate and are reported by the railroad by April 30, 1998. The contractor then has until July 30, 1998 to complete the waybill data processing. Subsequent years follow the same cycle, starting on January 1 and ending 19 months later on July 30. For seven months of each year the contractor will be working on two different waybill sample years. The contact period shall extend approximately two months beyond the end of each processing cycle, and will end with the delivery and acceptance of the deliverables. The railroad waybill sample data to be processed under this statement of work will be delivered to the contractor on magnetic tape from the computerized system (Machine Readable Input, MRI) carriers and on hard copies of waybill sample documents from non-MRI carriers. The contractor shall maintain copies of all records and waybill documentation received from railroads as well as its own records and documentation pertaining to the collection and processing of the waybill data for a period of 3 years from the date the Waybill Sample is delivered to and accepted by the Government. These records shall be available for Government review at any time. These records shall document all steps taken by the contractor in the follow-up requirement to assure that the railroads are providing complete and accurate data. The contractor will compare waybill records and documents with other sources to assure that all records required under 49 C.F.R. 1244 are submitted by the railroads and that all railroads that are required to submit documents do submit the required data. The contractor shall provide the Government with all necessary documentation to use the files, including but not limited to the following: 1. Standard Transportation Commodity Code Directory; 2. Freight Station Accounting Code Directory; 3. A list of all railroads in the sample (originating, terminating, or bridge) with the reporting marks used by these carriers. The above documentation will be provided in both hardcopy and in computer readable form. Interested sources must submit a fully descriptive statement of qualifications by close of business March 12, 1996. Qualification statements shall be limited to no more than 15 pages, including a description of organizational and individual knowledge and working experience with: Railroad Waybill practices; the railroad transportation industry in general; data processing techniques; and prior projects of a similar nature, including names, addresses and telephone numbers for client representatives. Resumes of key personnel who would be assigned to manage and implement the required work should be included within the 15 page limit. Submissions may be made to the above address or by FAX number (202) 366-3055. (043)

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