NIGP 94063: Rail Grinding

NIGP 94063 Rail Grinding, an Item code, covers the supply, installation, and performance of rail grinding equipment and services for light rail and transit systems. State and local governments buy rail profile restoration, corrugation removal, track reprofile and alignment services, and rerailing equipment and truck outfitting to extend rail life, reduce noise and vibration, improve wheel-rail interface performance, and support emergency derailment recovery operations. Work spans both corrective and preventive grinding on tangent and curved segments, including switches and special trackwork, and includes engineering design, fabrication, installation, testing, documentation, and personnel training. Issuing bodies are primarily transit authorities and city transit systems procuring these services to maintain and rehabilitate their light rail networks.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) and the City of Charlotte, North Carolina represent recent activity in this code. METRO issued an Invitation for Bids in March 2026 (due April 15, 2026) for rerailing equipment supply and re-rail truck outfitting to support articulated light rail vehicle operations, specifying 28 line items including hydraulic jacks, lifting cylinders, control manifolds, and custom truck installation with pre-bid briefing on March 23, 2026, and public bid opening April 16, 2026. Charlotte Area Transit System released a Request for Proposals on March 5, 2026 (due March 27, 2026) for Blue Line track reprofile and alignment services requiring a rail grinding machine with minimum 16 grinding stones, on-board dust collection and spark suppression, data logging, and surface roughness between 0.5 to 2.0 microns, with a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference March 16, 2026, and contract award targeted for April 10, 2026. Both procurements require comprehensive documentation, multiple client references, federal and state compliance, and multi-year terms.