22.a.JandA-NRC-redacted-for-SAM-posting.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For Requirements > $10,000

Page 1 of 4 RAD-30 J&A Tracking JA-24-0001

NRC/ICRI - 2024

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity

Federal Railroad Administration Headquarters, Office of Research, Data, Innovation (RDI-21) and Office of Acquisition Management (RAD-30), 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20590.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved

Award of a sole source contract to National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to continue the coordination of International Collaborative Research Initiative (ICRI) and continue collaborative research in Rolling Contact fatigue (RCF) and rail surface inspection.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value)

Research services required that meet the agency’s need include: computer modelling of vehicle-track interaction and predictions of rail/wheel damage, and their comparison with field measurements of damage evolution. The work includes an option for researching and testing the performance of track components or vehicle components at very low temperatures in the NRC’s unique cold weather track research facility. Emerging tools for measuring and quantifying damage evolution, such as eddy current and machine vision, are being regularly applied and their capabilities reported.

Additionally, the ICRI has initiated and is coordinating a number of international collaborative projects to address key technical challenges such as visualizing and modeling crack growth in rails, quantifying both the economics and safety implications of RCF and wear, and developing comprehensive wear maps for rail and wheel steels.

The activities proposed in this NRC contract will leverage past, ongoing, and new efforts being monitored by and accessible to the ICRI including:

• A study planned for the CSX Railroad to develop and monitor optimized rail profile designs.

• Rail grinding projects on transit systems in New York and San Francisco

• An autonomous track performance monitoring program at New York City Transit

• A rail corrugation and quality index collaboration involving the University of Manitoba, Advanced Rail

Management and the National Research Council of Canada

• Rail damage modeling efforts underway at the University of Huddersfield (UK) and Virtual Vehicle (Austria)

• Friction testing underway by several organizations including LB Foster Inc. and Central Queensland University

• Premium steel evaluations at London Underground.

• A new initiative with BNSF to perform field studies to monitor wheel/rail contact, lubrication, grinding and rail defect inspection.

The FRA Office of R&D seeks to continue to support the cooperative research that is led by NRC and aimed at improving safety and productivity of rail services in North America by studying the impact of vehicle track interaction on rail and wheel damage evolution and then the impact of that damage on rail integrity.

The total value of the acquisition, with options, is estimated to be approximately $600,00 to $750,000.

The Period of Performance (PoP) is expected to be five (5) years – a Base Period of 18 months, an Option Period of 18 months, and an Option for Cold Weather Brakes Research with an expected duration of approximately 24 months.

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition

The non-competitive acquisition will be conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C.3304(a)(1) and in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

Page 2 of 4 RAD-30 J&A Tracking JA-24-0001

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited

FRA is unable to use full and open competition for this purchase order due to specialized knowledge and projects experience possessed by NRC with regard to the services being requested. In prior research activities, National Research Council of Canada (NRC) developed wheel/rail profile and lubrication and grinding practices for Amtrak Acela operation which improved the wheel/rail life by a factor of two. NRC also recommended a new wheel profile for passenger and commuter equipment that was adopted by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). NRC’s report discussing the problems with RCF was the main document used during FRA’s RCF workshop. Their researchers are well-known nationally and internationally in the area of wheel/rail interface and RCF. This team has designed wheel/rail profiles for many rail systems, including Amtrak.

The internationally recognized expertise, objectivity, longstanding railroad industry partner outreach, and audience acceptance of NRC in its collaboration with ICRI makes NRC uniquely positioned to provide FRA access to required research project collaboration and research results. FRA’s continued support of NRC/ICRI’s ongoing and new research is critical to making NRC/ICRI’s resulting reports, empirical research data, expert technical exchanges, and other technical findings available to FRA’s stakeholders, including railroads, universities, and other DOT modes. NRC’s uniquely designed and constructed cold weather test facility allows important research and physical testing for FRA stakeholders on the operations of freight train air brakes under controlled and repeatable cold weather conditions.

The unique experience, expertise, and equipment of NRC to perform wheel/rail interface research to support FRA’s mission includes:

NRC - ICRI:

• NRC-ICRI is an internationally recognized authority on rolling contact fatigue and wear of rails and wheels.

• NRC is the founder and driving force behind the collaboration.

• NRC-ICRI has the collaborative relationships responsible for the current and future success of the ICRI initiative.

• NRC brings financial support from the Canadian government as well as Canadian authorities and organizations (Transport Canada, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, and other sources) Atlas of Rail Surface Fatigue:

• The NRC team is internationally recognized as experts in the field of rolling contact fatigue, rail grinding and friction management. This is crucial, as the deliverable is a document that attempts to set a standard that guides future technology developments, and so the provider must have a very high level of authority.

• NRC has established strong relationships with major parties (Amtrak, Ensco, FRA), having worked with all for over a decade.

• NRC has possession of rail samples and field data associated with several years of research effort.

• NRC has been working with FRA, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF and AAR to examine rail surface damage and has already collected substantial data for FRA.

Amtrak and NEC commuter Wheel/rail Studies:

• As the developer of the Preventive, Preventive-Gradual, and Predictive rail grinding practices, NRC is arguably leading the world in the area of rail grinding and is well situated to advice on innovative rail grinding practices for Amtrak.

• NRC has previously demonstrated success on Amtrak, because of

Page 3 of 4 RAD-30 J&A Tracking JA-24-0001

− Familiarity and experience with Amtrak’s present and past challenges; and − Established strong relationships with major parties (Amtrak, Ensco, FRA), with over 20 years of working together.

• NRC has a library of data from Amtrak (e.g., profiles, friction, grinding) that can be used in future projects. Amtrak’s next generation Acela trains, currently being tested in the Northeast Corridor (NEC), will be equipped with new wheel profiles. As was the case with the current Acela trains, NRC cooperative research and testing may be needed again to examine Amtrak's wheel/rail profiles and related wheel/rail maintenance practices to reduce the potential for certain types of derailment in revenue service.

• NRC has already developed models (e.g., NUCARS) and analytical methods (Instrumented Wheelset (IWS) analysis, pummelling) for application to future studies.

NRC is uniquely qualified to continue the activities started under prior contracts/agreements with FRA over many years in wheel/rail interface research and to continue its substantial gathering of data for FRA. No other entity has the unique qualifications and necessary projects experience set forth herein. For another entity to acquire these qualifications and experience to continue NRC-ICRI’s work would take an inordinate investment of additional time and money for such entity to hypothetically be capable of continuing NRC’s work. Some of the activities proposed under this follow-on agreement, such as Atlas of Rail Surface fatigue, are urgently needed to provide guidelines to FRA’s Office of Railroad Safety inspectors and railroad personnel to inspect rail and detect critical surface defects.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

A notice of intent to single source was posted for 15 days on www.SAM.gov (Posting ID: 693JJ6RDI24RFI0008) in June 2024. By the closing date, only one response was received. The program office evaluated the response from T-Fox and determined that the respondent could not meet the requirement.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable

The FRA will ensure that all costs associated with the proposed contract are fair and reasonable. The FRA will perform a thorough analysis of the Offeror’s proposal to substantiate this determination.

8. Description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted

Market research was conducted by the FRA, and the market research report concluded that FRA has invested considerable resources in the NRC research program and IRCI initiative, and there are no other known contractors at this time deemed to have the necessary comparable capabilities to meet FRA’s requirement for advancing international collaborative research in rolling contact fatigue, wheel/rail interaction, and damage evolution.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition

N/A

10. Listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Page 4 of 4 RAD-30 J&A Tracking JA-24-0001

A notice of intent to sole source was posted on www.SAM.gov (Posting ID #693JJ6RDI24RFI0008). A response was received from T-Fox, and the program office’s review determined that the respondent was incapable of meeting the requirement.

11. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The agency will continue to conduct market research and/or possibly advertise subsequent acquisition if future market research so indicates for related supplies or services to remove or overcome barriers to competition.

12. Certification/Approval Signatures

I certify that the information provided in this justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature/Date: Alexandra D’Andrea, General Engineer (DOT/FRA), Alternate COR

Based upon the preceding information, I hereby recommend approval of this Justification for a non-competitive contract award to National Research Council (NRC) of Canada for this requirement.

Signature/Date: Lisa Bucci, Contracting Officer, DOT/FRA