RFI-End_of_Car_Barrier.pdf

End of Car Barrier (Pantograph Style)

WASHINGTON

METROPOLITAN AREA

TRANSIT AUTHORITY

(WMATA)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

ACQUIRING END OF CAR BARRIER (PANTOGRAPH

STYLE) ON THE 7000 SERIES RAILCAR

DUE DATE: April 22, 2019 AT 5:00 P.M. EST

DISCLAIMER:

This is not a solicitation. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), or an announcement of a solicitation and does not assume

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitations. The information requested herein is for information purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded.

SYNOPSIS: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Vendor’s response to this RFI is not an offer. This Request for Information does not commit

WMATA to any incurred costs in preparation of any submissions to this notice, or to contract for services and it is issued for WMATA Market Research purposes only. No cost(s) associated with your response shall be charged to WMATA for any reason. This document shall not be construed as a request or authorization to perform work at WMATA’s expense. Any work performed by a vendor will be at the vendor’s own discretion and expense. This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase nor does it obligate WMATA in any manner. Submission of a response constitutes an acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

WMATA may submit a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services described in this document. There is no guarantee that WMATA will publish an RFP. If published, the RFP will be sent to vendors that demonstrate adequate capabilities in response to this RFI. The information contained in this RFI is provided based upon the information gathered and/or known now. There are no guarantees as to the accuracy of this information.

Participation in this RFI is voluntary and WMATA will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted by a respondent or for WMATA’s use of that information.

Interested offerors shall provide a capability statement of their experience in successfully providing similar solutions to other transit agencies or railroads. The capability statement shall include the name and address of the transit agency or railroad, a brief description of the equipment provided, and a contact’s name and telephone number from the transit agency or railroad.

Please forward the above information along with your company’s name, address, point of contact, telephone number, and e-mail address no later than April 22, 2019 to the Primary Contact

Person: Robert Jones, Procurement, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. For questions please email rjones5@wmata.com or call 301-955-5492.

Information submitted will be reviewed by WMATA’s Office of Vehicle Program Services staff, Department of Transit Infrastructure and Engineering Services. WMATA may meet with individual offerors to discuss and review the information provided. If WMATA decides to proceed with procurement of the services or products offered, a formal solicitation will be issued.

This RFI is issued to conduct market research and information gathering for the manufacture and delivery of end of car barriers to be utilized throughout the WMATA Rail System for the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and to solicit information that will enable WMATA to determine industry participation in response to the release of a possible future solicitation and as a means of technical discovery and information gathering. This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation nor should it be construed as an obligation on the part of the WMATA to make any purchases. WMATA may utilize the results of this RFI in revising a specification that will allow for development of a competitive solicitation

(RFP) for the subject services/products/equipment. Any future contract that may be awarded must comply with WMATA’s procurement requirements.

Based on the information provided by the respondents to this RFI, a determination will be made regarding any actual contracting through a procurement process at WMATA’s discretion.

Below are our current Scope of Work and Technical Specifications. Please review and provide comments.

AGENCY OVERVIEW

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro) is the transit provider for the National Capital Region, providing safe, clean, and reliable service to both residents and visitors. Our customers include more than a third of the federal government workforce and millions of tourists who visit the Nation’s Capital every year. Metro operates the second largest heavy rail transit system, sixth largest bus network, and fifth largest para-transit service in the

United States.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

WMATA is looking for potential suppliers who are willing to provide end of car barriers for the

7000, and 8000 series railcars that will be used to prevent the riding public from falling between the cars onto the track while the train is in the station.

INTRODUCTION:

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) is gathering information that for a pantograph style design End of Car Barrier system on the 7000 / 8000 series rail cars Invites your firm to provide input associated with this Request for Information (RFI).

Background

WMATA current 7000 Series railcars have four outer end of car barrier spring assemblies on each car, two per end of car, left side and right side. The current design requires the operator to physically disconnect and store one end of the assembly, on each side of the car as the cars are uncoupled.

WMATA would like to have the capability to couple and uncouple cars without operator intervention on the outer end of car barrier assemblies.

Figure 1 : Current Between Car Barrier

Scope of Work

The following sections describe the functional and technical considerations that WMATA seeks in the pantograph style end of car barrier.

Technical Specifications - DRAFT

Firms responding to this RFI will supply a description of end of car barrier system meeting WMATA’s requirements within this document, but not limited to;

1. The new outer end of car barriers are in addition to the inner end of car barrier spring assemblies on the 7000 Series Railcars.

2. The new end of car barriers will be installed between the end of cars as follows:

a. B car F end to B car F end

b. A car F end to A car F end

3. The end of car barrier will consider the following requirements, but not limited to:

a. Hardware.

i. The curent end of car mounting locations (4 bolts) will be used to mount the new designed barrier. No modifications to the car body are acceptable.

ii. The new barriers must not interfere with the cars headlights or windshield wiper assemblies.

iii. Reflective materials on the outside vertical edges of the assembly and horizontal straps will make the units easier to see for the visually impaired riders.

iv. Friction surfaces of the barriers will be made of low maintenance materials that will last the life of the unit without replacement.

v. The worst case conditions will be modeled and presented for review

1. Single curved track 250 degree radius

2. Crossover track

3. Tangent Track

vi. The equipment will be capable of being operated at the specified performance levels and stored without degradation under the following environmental conditions.:

1. Cars will be used seven days per week and operating in revenue service up to 22-24 hours a day.

2. Cars will be in service a minimum of 300 days per year during the prescribed hours.

3. Ambient Temperature: -30 °F to 120 °F

vii. Low weight solution(s) is highly preferred.

Figure 2: Pantograph Style Between Car Barrier

4. As part of the response to this RFI, the respondent may be requested to perform a presentation of the proposed solution. Respondents are requested to submit a master plan which includes the following, but not limited to:

a. Overall schedule of proposed events.

b. Detail description of equipment installation process.

Questions for Potential Contractors

WMATA requests that potential contractor’s provided responses to the following questions in addition to commenting on the provided scope of work:

1. What is the composition of the materials used on the friction surface of the barrier assembly?

2. What is the expected life cycle of the friction materials?

3. Will the end of car barrier have any maintenance components?

4. What is the expected life cycle of the end of car barrier?

5. What is the projected weight of the end of car barrier assembly?

SUBMISSIONS

Submission of Responses

Ensure that all requests for information in this document are answered as concisely as possible. Any deviations from requirements, or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified. Points to follow during the generation of responses to this RFI include the following:

I. Responses must include a statement indicating that the vendor understands the requirements of the RFI. The original response must be signed under the corporate seal by an authorized officer. The original and all copies, including all supplementary literature, must be forwarded to the point of contact identified in the Synopsis: Request for

Information (RFI) section of this RFI.

II. Any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in a vendor response should be clearly marked ‘PROPRIETARY’ or ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ next to the item or at the top of each respective page.

III. All responses, once delivered, becomes the property of WMATA.

IV. If an answer is best presented as an attachment, the required document may be provided as an attachment.

APPENDIX A: Template for RFI Responses

Please use the template below to provide comments, questions, or additional information relevant to sections within the Technical Specification. Please identify the Technical Specification

Section in the left-hand column below, e.g.C.3.3. Please feel free to provide additional comments that be will be helpful to WMATA.

Technical

Specification

Section

Comments, Questions, or Additional information

Rights and Obligations of WMATA

WMATA reserves all rights (which rights shall be exercisable by WMATA in its sole discretion) available to it under applicable law, including without limitation, the following, with or without cause and with or without notice:

• The right to cancel, withdraw, postpone or extend the RFI in whole or in part at any time, without incurring any obligations or liabilities;

• The right to issue a new RFI;

• The right to reject any submittals and responses received at any time;

• The right to modify all dates set or projected in this RFI;

• The right to terminate evaluations of responses received at any time;

• The right to suspend and terminate this RFI at any time;

• The right to waive or permit corrections to data submitted with any response to this RFI;

• The right to issue addenda, supplements, and modifications to this RFI;

• The right to permit the submittal of addenda and supplements to data previously provided with any response to this RFI;

• The right to hold meetings, conduct discussions and draft correspondence with one or more of the Respondents responding to this RFI to seek an improved understanding of the responses to the RFI.

• The information and responses received in response to this RFI may be shared with other

• CONFIDENTIALITY & RFI OWNERSHIP

All responses to the RFI will become the property of WMATA and will not be returned.

WMATA shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any identified proprietary information. Properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with WMATA regulations. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the market place and any responses received will not be considered an offer by the responding party and cannot be returned.

No requests for solicitation packages will be granted, as no solicitation has been prepared.