U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Acquisition and Grants Services (RAD-30), 400 7th Street, S.W., Rm 8222, Washington, D.C. 20590

A -- TRACK INSPECTION/DETECTION RESEARCH; RAIL NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (NDE) IMPROVEMENT SOL DTFR53-93-C-00001, Task Order No. 117 DUE 061695 POC Contact Point, Contract Specialist, Thomas Riddle, 202/366-0565/Contracting Officer, Robert Carpenter, 202/366-0564 The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to conduct Track Inspection and Detection Research for the purposes of improving the reliability of Rail Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Technology. Current NDE methods for rail flaw inspection include ultrasonic and to a lesser extent magnetic induction testing. Rail surface conditions, such as shelling, may mask internal defects and hinder their detection by current methods. Improvements or modifications to existing methods or the development of new, more efficient methods are needed to assure increased reliability of rail inspections as their timely detection and corrective action is essential to the prevention of rail-failure-caused derailments. Under this project, the contractor will encourage collaborative participation from a steering committee led by a railroad industry representative and supported by the U.S. Dept of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In conducting the research activities, the contractor will be required to: (1) collect rail samples from either the contractor facility and/or revenue service; (2) conduct artificial flaw research and manufacturing; (3) perform testing of current rail NDE methods; (4) identify alternative rail NDE methods; (5) install rail flaw calibration track; and (6) install and evaluate prototype rail NDE equipment previously solicited under the FRA's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The results of this research will be presented in two reports: (1) a report documenting rail sample conditions researched using detection equipment, practice, and procedures for existing NDE methods; and (2) a separate report on alternative NDE methods researched to include recommendations based on testing, for prototype rail flaw systems capable of detecting existing flaw types found in revenue service. The AAR is considered uniquely qualified to perform the proposed work due to its ability to conduct full-scale testing using the test facilities at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, and its unique position to effectively perform efforts requiring coordination with the rail industry. Consequently, the FRA intends to conduct the proposed efforts through a task order issued under the FRA's existing research and test facilities management contract with the AAR. The applicable authority for this announced intention is that under 41 U.S.C. 253 (c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, ''Only One Responsible Source.'' This is not a competitive procurement and no RFP is available. See Note 22. (0104)

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