RFI_Inter-Car_Barrier_Final.pdf

Inter-car Barrier

WASHINGTON

METROPOLITAN

AREA TRANSIT

AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

RFI20012

INTER-CAR BARRIERS FOR THE 7000 SERIES

RAILCARS

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

1. INTRODUCTION

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) is gathering information for an inter-car barrier system design for the 7000 series railcars (Figure 1) and invites your firm to provide input associated with this Request for Information.

Figure 1: 7000 Series Railcar

2. BACKGROUND

Currently, WMATA 7000 Series railcars have inter-car outboard barrier spring assemblies

(Figure 2) on each car (two per inter-car, four per coupled pair). The current design requires the operator to physically disconnect and store each spring from the track bed before the cars are uncoupled and vice versa after coupling. Additionally, the current design has the potential to break free if the trains are uncoupled, without the operator disconnecting the springs, allowing the spring style inter-car barrier to fall and make contact with 3rd rail.

Figure 2: Current inter-car barrier

3. SYNOPSIS: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

This RFI is issued to conduct market research and information gathering about inter-car barriers that may be utilized on 7000 Series Railcars the WMATA Rail System. WMATA is soliciting information that will enable it to release a possible future solicitation.

WMATA is using this RFI as a means of technical discovery and information gathering.

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. WMATA will entertain all designs that provide similar function and form solutions.

Please forward RFI information along with your company’s name, address, point of contact, telephone number, and e-mail address no later than Tuesday, October 22, 2019 to the Primary Contact Person: Robert Jones, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit

Authority, Office of Procurement and Materials. For questions please email rjones5@wmata.com . Failure to respond or participate in this RFI does not disqualify any vendor.

Information submitted will be reviewed by WMATA’s Office of Procurement and

Material in conjunction with the Office of Vehicle Program Services staff, Department of

Transit Infrastructure and Engineering Services. WMATA may meet with vendors to discuss and review the information provided. The Authority may host a site visit to allow vendors to view and examine the railcars. Participation in this RFI process will have no bearing the Authority’s choice of an awardee for any future solicitation.

Any actual contracting will occur through a competitive procurement process at

WMATA’s discretion. Respondents to this RFI will receive no preference in any future solicitation and contract award.

mailto:rjones5@wmata.com

4. DISCLAIMER

This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation nor shall it be construed as an obligation on the part of the Authority to make any purchases. 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 WMATA will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitations. Any future contract that may be awarded must comply with WMATA’s procurement requirements.

Response to this RFI does not constitute an offer of services or products. Participation in this RFI is voluntary and WMATA will not pay for any information, concept design, or prototype. All information submitted may be used by WMATA without any compensation to the vendor. Any activity performed by a vendor will be at the vendor’s own discretion and expense.

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.

WMATA may utilize the results of this RFI in revising a specification that may allow for development of a competitive solicitation. The information contained in this RFI is provided based upon the information gathered and/or known. There are no guarantees as to the accuracy of this information.

Submission of a response constitutes an acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

5. AGENCY OVERVIEW

WMATA 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.

6. SCOPE OF WORK

WMATA is looking for potential suppliers who will provide ADA compliant concepts and designs for inter-car barriers for the 7000 series A and B railcars that will be used to prevent the riding public (to include, vision and mobility impaired riders) from falling between the cars onto the track while the train is berthed at the station. The following sections describe the functional and technical considerations that WMATA seeks in the style of the inter-car barrier. The new inter-car barriers will be mounted in pairs (left and right hand) to the end of cars and interface as follows:

6.1 A car to A car F ends

6.2 B car to B car F ends

The semi-permanent coupled R end of the 7000 series railcars is not under the scope of this RFI.

As part of the response to this RFI, the respondent may be requested to perform a presentation. Respondents are requested to submit:

A detailed description of the equipment proposed and the installation process.

7. DESIGN PARAMETERS

Vendors responding to this RFI must supply a description of their solution to this request. Solutions should meet WMATA’s requirements within this document, but are not limited to:

7.1 Design must not violate WMATA’s dynamic outline described in Appendix B.

7.2 Design must meet ADA compliance; being visible, detectable and resisting passenger intrusion into the inter-car area.

7.3 Design must withstand environmental conditions described in Appendix C.

7.4 Design must interface, but not interfere with mating barrier while vehicle is traversing

WMATA track parameters described in Appendix D.

7.5 The duty cycle of the barriers is expected to be seven days per week and operating in revenue service of 22-24 hours a day, 300 days per year.

7.6 Inter-car mating must be passive and not require “latching” for car coupling and

“unlatching” for car uncoupling.

7.7 Mating faces must be parallel and in contact with each other when the train is berthed at a station (tangent track).

7.8 Design must compress when on the inside of radius track. Contact between mating barriers are not required when on the outside of radius track.

7.9 Outboard barrier structure must support the weight of a 90th percentile male passengers standing or otherwise “hanging” on the barrier

7.10 Design must not obstruct viewing from the left and right car windows.

7.11 Design must not interfere with the car’s headlights, tail lights and windshield wiper assemblies.

7.12 Friction surfaces of the barriers will be made of low maintenance materials.

7.13 Low weight solution(s) is highly preferred.

7.14 The current end-of-car mounting locations will be used to mount the barrier.

8. QUESTIONS FOR POTENTIAL CONTRACTORS

WMATA requests that interested vendors provide responses to the following questions.

Comments may be provided on the attached RFI Response form (Appendix A)

8.1 It your design service proven and ADA compliant /FTA compliant? Will the inter-car barrier require periodic maintenance? Will the inter-car barrier have any maintenance components?

8.2 What is the expected life cycle of the inter-car barrier?

8.3 What is the projected weight of the inter-car barrier assembly?

8.4 What is the production lead time for manufacturing / delivery?

8.5 How is corrosion addressed?

9. SUBMISSIONS

Submission of Responses

All requests for information in this document should be answered as concisely as possible.

Any deviations from parameters that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified. Responses to this RFI should include the following:

Please submit a statement indicating that the vendor understands the parameters 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 section of this RFI.

All responses, once delivered, become the property of WMATA.

APPENDIX A: RFI RESPONSE FORM

Please use the template below to provide comments, questions, or additional information relevant to sections within the Design Parameters. Please identify the RFI 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.

RFI Section

Comments, Questions, or Additional information

APPENDIX B: WMATA DYNAMIC ENVELOPE

APPENDIX C: WMATA ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Ambient Temperature: -30°F to 120°F

Maximum Design

Temperature Above Running

Rail:

140°F (60°C)

Relative Humidity: 20% to 100%, including conditions of condensation

Maximum Rainfall: 12 inches in 24 hours

Maximum Snowfall: 24 inches in 24 hours

Maximum Wind Speed: 80 mph (operational), 120 mph (storage)

Ice or Freezing Rain: 10 - 12 times per year

APPENDIX D: WMATA TRACK PARAMENTERS

Feature Dimension/Criteria

Rail 115 RE Canted 1:40

Minimum radius of track curve 270 ft.

Minimum length of tangent between reverse curves

13 ½ ft.

See Note 1

Shape of vertical curves Parabolic

Minimum length of vertical curves 200 ft.

See Note 2

Maximum grade 5%

Most restrictive crossover No. 6 with 14 ft. track centers

Maximum superelevation 6 in.

Gauge, tangent track and curves with radii of

1,425 feet and greater 4 ft. 8-1/4 in.

Gauge, tangent track and curves with radii of between 350 and 1,425 feet 4 ft. 8-1/2 in.

Radius less than 350 feet with restraining rail 4 ft. 9-1/4 in.

Maximum track cross level 6 in.

Note 1: The most severe reverse-curve situation is that in which two guarded No. 6 turnouts (of the same hand) face each other with 13.53 feet of tangent track between the points and 250-foot radius curves (in the same direction as the turnout) that continue beyond both frogs.

Note 2: The minimum length of vertical curve is determined by the formula L = (G1 - G2) 100 where L = Length in feet and (G1 - G2) = Algebraic difference in grade in percent. No vertical curve will be less than 200 feet long.

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 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.

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 damages for use of any information. DO

NOT SUBMIT ANY PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. If any proprietary information is inadvertently submitted, the vendor waives their rights to such information, and will indemnify WMATA for its use.