Sole Source NUCARS Software Licenses.pdf
PDF 149 KB Posted
- Attached to
- FY'26 Licenses to Operate NUCARS Software
- Solicitation number
- 6913G626Q300013
About this file
This is a Sole Source Justification document for federal procurement request V3332124 issued by the Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, specifically the Structures and Dynamics Division (V-333).
The procurement seeks renewal of two licenses to operate NUCARS software for the year 2026. NUCARS is proprietary software owned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and is required for rail dynamics studies to support ongoing project demands within the Division. Market research conducted in December 2025 by Jon LeBlanc identified alternative vehicle track interaction dynamics software packages including SIMPACK, VAMPIRE, and VI-Rail; however, none are compatible with the Government's existing catalog of vehicle models or decades of accumulated simulation results. The justification establishes that NUCARS is the only adequately validated simulation package capable of predicting the nonlinear dynamic response of North American railroad vehicles to specified track conditions, and no alternative package can be modified to meet the Government's needs. MxV Rail has been confirmed as the sole provider of NUCARS licenses. Converting existing vehicle model files and validating them for use with alternative software would require hundreds of labor hours and cost tens of thousands of dollars, creating significant project disruption and negatively impacting the Government's ability to meet project sponsor requirements. The justification relies solely on the "Only One Responsible Source" criterion, with Brand Name and Unusual and Compelling Urgency factors marked as not applicable.
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Text version
Procurement Request No. V3332124
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER (VOLPE CENTER)
INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY
STRUCTURES AND DYNAMICS DIVISION, V-333
SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
A. Description of Supplies/Services.
The Structures and Dynamics Division seeks renewal of two licenses to operate NUCARS software for the year 2026. NUCARS is proprietary software of Association of American Railroads (AAR) that is required for rail dynamics studies. Ongoing project demands in the Division necessitate continued availability of this software.
Market Research.
Market research was conducted in December of 2025 by Jon LeBlanc, consisting of an internet and GSA vendor search, identified several other vehicle track interaction dynamics software packages such as SIMPACK, VAMPIRE, and VI-Rail.
None of these other packages are compatible with the Government’s existing catalogue of vehicle models and decades of past results. Of the available software packages, NUCARS is the only simulation package that has been sufficiently validated to predict the nonlinear dynamic response of North American railroad vehicles to specified track conditions and no other software package can meet or be modified to meet the Government needs.
B. Supporting Rationale.
(1) Sole Source: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.
Jon LeBlanc contacted MxV Rail, and they confirmed that they are the sole provider license for NUCARS software. An enormous effort and project disruption would be required to convert and validate the existing library of vehicle models files created by Volpe Center engineers for use with another software. Also, NUCARS software is required to access the results from decades of past simulation work performed by Volpe Center engineers. The time and cost involved in modifying existing models and results using a different software package would require hundreds of labor hours, costing the Government tens of thousands of dollars, and would negatively impact the Government’s ability to meet the project sponsors need.
(2) Brand Name. N/A
(3) Unusual and Compelling Urgency. N/A
C. Required Signatures. The following signatures represent concurrence/approval of this justification:
| A. Description of Supplies/Services. |
| B. Supporting Rationale. |
| (2) Brand Name. N/A |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .