NRNM_SOW_2015.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Update of FRA’s National Railroad Network Model (NRNM) Work to be Performed:

Update the FRA National Railroad Network Model (NRNM) to include the 2014 traffic density data and recommend changes to the national rail network system.

1) FRA will provide the contractor with the raw data of the 2014 Class 1 railroads density information. There are 7 Class 1 railroad companies within the US from which FRA obtains annual million gross tonnages. The raw data may be represented with a physical or digital map, a physical or digital table, or other means to portray the information. The contractor will decipher the information to code the information onto the FRA’s network.

a. The density information will be coded as the following:

· Non-Directional: the sum of the tonnages

· Coded to the millions of tons; using 2 decimal places (if applicable)

· Density information is coded onto Main line tracks

· If density information is unknown, but link contains tonnage; the contractor will code in .01.

· Please see Appendix “Formats on Density Updates” for more information and examples of the different types of density updates.

2) The contractor will be provided the FRA Network, Populated Places, Mileposts, Grade Crossings and Freight Stations to be able to reference the raw density information to the FRA network. All data provided by FRA is proprietary and the contractor may not share any materials outside this contract.

a. The FRA network contains several attributes that will be critical for the contractor to have a working knowledge of the data elements. Specifically, the type of rail segment(s), the owner of the rail segment(s), and the trackage rights of the rail segment(s).

b. The contractor shall provide a list of recommended updates to the NRNM to reflect changes in the railroad industry (i.e. abandonments, sales, trackage rights, etc). This list should include any other inaccuracies found in the network. If or when this occurs, the contractor will develop and maintain a table of the links unique identifier known as the “FRAARCID” and a description of the issue.

· Please see Appendix: “Background on the FRA Network” and “Other Reference Data”

3) The contractor will encounter areas where one or more railroad companies’ density information will need to be integrated together. The contractor will need to decipher how the tonnage is being handled within the real world. The contractor may have previous knowledge about the rail freight industry to assist with these types of situations. If the contractor is unknowledgeable; they will need to research the geographical areas and rail companies to determine the rail behavior(s).

a. The contractor should not exceed more than 90 hours for the total allotted time for research. Some areas require no research because of the logic within the freight movements; where some areas may require as much as 20 to 40 minutes of research.

b. The contractor is required to document every research element with the FRARACID(s), a brief description, and the resources used for each research element that exceeds 10 minutes.

· Please see Appendix: “Rail Hubs” for a visual example Contractor must possess the following:

1) The Contractor shall utilize ArcView geographic information systems software to code 2010 traffic density data onto the NRNM. The contractor must have a working knowledge of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the use of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Desktop products.

2) The contractor must have experience in working with spatial data; specifically shapefiles. It would be preferred that the contractor would have a working knowledge of spatial transportation layers and/or the mechanics of topological networks.

Preferred that the contractor possess the following skills, but the contractor must possess at least one of the following:

1) A working knowledge of the GIS data maintained at the Federal Railroad Administration.

2) A working knowledge of freight rail and how commodities are moved over the network within the rail freight industry.

3) If the contractor has a limited knowledge of the rail industry or the spatial layers within FRA; the contractor must be within 50 miles of the FRA headquarters in Washington D.C. to participate in face to face meetings.

Government Furnished Property/ Material Within ten working days of award, the FRA shall furnish the contractor with the following items:

1) Any 2014 traffic density maps in the possession of the FRA and any available for the option periods

2) An electronic copy of the NRNM and other spatial layers

· Item 1 shall be governed by the terms of the Propriety Data Agreement. Items 2 and 3 shall remain the property of the Government.

Deliverables

1) The contractor will meet at FRA’s headquarters for an official Kickoff Meeting. The kickoff meeting will address any remaining questions of the contractor. At this time, FRA will hand over all materials to the contractor.

2) After every completion of a Class 1’s density update, the contractor will send the FRA an electronic copy of the FRAARCIDs and tier associated density information for review. FRA will provide feedback to the contractor within 48 business hours.

3) Once the network is completed the contractor will deliver a copy of the NRNM in shapefile format or other format acceptable to the COR on CDROM to which has been added the total 2011 traffic density data for each railroad link in the NRNM.

4) A report of the rail segments that identifies any recommended updates to the NRNM to reflect changes in the railroad industry. The report will have a list of the FRAARCIDs and a description of the pertinent issues.

5) A report of the rail segments that required research of the geographical areas and the freight movements. The report will have a list of the FRARACID(s), a brief description, the resources used for each research element, and the amount of time for research.

6) All materials will be returned to the FRA within 30 days of the contract’s completion.

Period of Performance The period of performance for this order is a one year base period and four, one year options.

Appendix FRA’s National Railroad Network Model (NRNM)

I. Background on the FRA Network II. Formats on the Density Updates

a. Table Example

b. Map Example III. Rail Hubs IV. Other Reference Data

I. Background on the FRA Network The FRA Network contains many attributes that will support the coding in the Million Gross Tons (MGT). The following information is same basic guidelines to assist with how to determine which rail lines to use based on the 7 different Class 1s railroads. Data dictionaries are available for all FRA datasets.

The FRA rail network is made up of 2 datasets: the rail line and the rail nodes. The rail nodes support the topological network of the linear data. This feature is important to determine of all of the segments have been selected. There are several attributes within the rail lines to assist in determining the correct line for coding in the million gross tons.

II. Formats on the Density Updates The railroads may provide FRA with an array of formats of their raw density information. The following are examples of the data being provided in a table formation and data being provided in a map format. They both will show one way of how a user can identify these lines and code in the information.

As stated in the requirements the coding is non-directional; which means the sum of each direction’s tonnage will be used per segment. The coding will be to million gross tonnage using 2 decimal places; for example if the railroad’s raw data is 1,513,903, the contractor will coding in the MGT as 1.51. The density information should only be coded onto the main line track segments. Lastly, if density information is unknown, but knowledge of tonnage does traverse the rail segment(s); the contractor will code in .01.

Example A: Railroad’s Raw Data is a Table

VIRIGINIA DIVISION

The contractor will identify the freight stations within the spatial data.

The contractor will code in the data into the FRA network.

Example B: Railroad’s Raw Data is a Map

The contractor will identify the freight stations within the spatial data.

The contractor will code in the data into the FRA network.

III. Rail Hubs The contractor will encounter areas where one or more railroad companies’ density information will need to be integrated together. The contractor will need to decipher how the tonnage is being handled within the real world. The contractor may have previous knowledge about the rail freight industry to assist within these types of situations. If the contractor is unknowledgeable; they will need to research the geographical areas and rail companies to determine the rail behavior(s). Please refer to the requirements about the amount of time allotted for research. The examples below are maps that show different rail hubs.

IV. Other Reference Data All data provided by FRA are proprietary and the contractor may not share any materials outside this contract.

FRA Freight Stations The freight stations “Centralized Station Master (CSM)” is a proprietary database from RAILINC. It is a geographic location file which contains data about rail and motor carrier points for North America and international areas. This file is primarily used by railroads to help plan freight movements from origin to destination in an efficient and timely manner. CSM rail station records are uniquely identified by combination of the Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) field and Freight Station Accounting Code (FSAC) field. They can also be identified uniquely by their respective Standard Point Location Code (SPLC).

FRA Mileposts The milepost layer contains physical location of the mileposts along the rail lines. The mileposts are assigned by the primary rail owner of the rail line. The data is primarily updated by the FRA geometry car, but also from State DOT’s and Railroads.

FRA Crossings Highway-railroad grade crossings are intersections where a highway crosses a railroad at-grade.

Other Reference The data includes but not limited to; all of the following datasets are available within the public domain on the USDOT’s National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD): Populated Places, Counties, and States.

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