U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Acquisition and Grants Services, RAD-30, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590

A -- TRACK GEOMETRY PARAMETER RECORDING SYSTEM FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL APPLICATIONS SOL DTFR53-97-R-00014 DUE 070897 POC Contract Specialist, Christine Henderson, 202-632-3239/Contracting Officer, Elaine C. Duke, 202-632-3237 The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) intends to negotiate a 1-year cost reimbursement completion type contract, with one option year, for the acquisition of a system for measuring and recording of various track geometry parameters for the purpose of assuring the safety of track and its compliance to Federal safety standards for high speed operations. One of the primary functions of this system will be for safety monitoring of the Railroad Test Track (RTT) at the Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, CO, a 13.5 mile loop designated for high speed rail testing. The system may be also used for assuring track safety on various high speed corridors within the United States. The Track Geometry Measuring System (TGMS) shall be designed for installation in a full-sized railway vehicle which will be provided by the FRA at the time of system installation and integration. The vehicle may be either self-propelled or towed and will be capable of traveling at speeds of up to 160 mph. Sufficient interior space or room will be made available on the selected vehicle for hosing the various data acquisition and reporting systems on board. A source for conditioned 110~V AC power will also be available on the vehicle. The TGMS shall consist of sensors, signal conditioning circuits, hardware and software for data acquisition, analysis, storage, and output reporting. The system must exclusively use non-contact sensors or methods for measuring the geometry parameters of the track. Geometry measurements must be made of the loaded track under the action of the vehicle's weight and dynamic loads and within the anticipated range of operating speeds of 10-160 mph. As the vehicle travels over a track segment, the system shall be able to measure and record the relevant track geometry parameters and conduct a real-time analysis and comparison of those parameters to the applicable safety standards to assure compliance. These parameters include gauge, crosslevel or superelevation, curvature, and the alignment and surface profile of each rail. The system shall reference all measured parameters to the measured distance along the track. The solicitation, which shall be issued on or about July 8, 1997, shall establish and specify the due date for receipt of proposals, currently estimated at on or about August 19, 1997. The anticipated start date is December 8, 1997. Sources interested in fulfilling the stated requirement must request a copy of the solicitation in writing. Requests for the solicitation, sent via facsimile transmission to FAX No. 202/632-3846, ATTN: C. Henderson, SOL No. DTFR53-97-R-00014, will be honored as a written request. This is an unrestricted competitive procurement. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the Agency.This Notice is for Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises: The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) has a program to assist minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises to acquire short-term working capital assistance for transportation-related contracts. Loans are available under the DOT Short-Term Lending Program (STLP) at prime interest rates to provide accounts receivable financing. The maximum line of credit is $500,000. For further information and applicable forms concerning the STLP, call the OSDBU at (800) 532-1169. For information concerning the acquisition, contact the contracting official listed above. (0164)

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