Manufacture and Delivery of Quantity of 25 Railway Boxcars: U. S. Naval Weapons Station Earle, NJ

The U.S. Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Cambridge, MA, 02142, intends to issue a solicitation for the Manufacture and Delivery as described herein. The contractor shall provide: 

1. A quantity of twenty-five (25) 50-foot, damage free (DF –Type) railway boxcars with wood floors and belt rail equipped, with a load capacity of no less than 80-tons and a service life of 50-years according to AAR when manufactured new. All boxcars shall be delivered to U.S. Naval Weapons Station Earle, Colts Neck, New Jersey.
2. A quantity of one (1) automated single car test device used for testing and evaluation of Railway freight car air brake systems. The device shall meet AAR specification S-4027.

The solicitation will be competed as a Small Business Set-Aside to all qualified quoters. The work is TWO (2) Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) as described below. The Government intends to award to one qualified Vendor. This award decision will be made at time of award on the basis of Best Value after the evaluation of quotes received. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and the solicitation will be issued as a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order.
Requirements are summarized as follows:

CLIN 00100: Quantity of twenty- five (25) 50-foot double-door damage free (DF –Type) railway boxcars as described herein delivered to U.S. Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle, Colts Neck, New Jersey. Estimated delivery of August 31, 2026.
CLIN 00200: Automated Railcar Air Brake Test Machine and Calibration Kit. Estimated delivery of August 31, 2025.

A draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) is attached for reference. Please note this PWS is a draft document and may change with the issuance of the solicitation.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this action is 336510- Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing. The applicable Small Business Administration Size Standard for 336510 is 1,500 employees.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTES. Please do not submit any quotes or materials until after the solicitation issuance. The Government will not pay for any documentation provided in response to this synopsis and any documentation received will not be returned to the sender. However, if deemed advantageous to the vendor, you may submit comments on the draft PWS via email to melissa.reams@dot.gov for any issues you wish the government to consider before issuance of the solicitation.

The estimated release date of the solicitation will be within 60-Days of this Pre-Solicitation Notice. The solicitation close date will be provided in the solicitation.

The Volpe Center uses electronic commerce to issue requests for quotes (RFQ) and amendments to RFQ. Paper copies will not be made available. The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available on the SAM.gov website: http://www.sam.gov.

All vendors must be registered in SAM to receive an award from a USDOT Agency. Contractors may access the site at http://www.sam.gov to review and obtain information about the registration process. Potential quoters are highly encouraged to complete the online provisions within the Representations and Certifications at the earliest within SAM. Applicable representations and certifications must be completed in order to receive an award from a DOT Agency.