Rail Car Intransit Visibility RFI #3

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) are conducting market research for a Rail Car Intransit Visibility (ITV) contract to procure tracking devices, installation, and data services for approximately 1,700 Department of Defense owned rail cars (DODX cars) located within the Contiguous United States. The procurement seeks commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) remote monitoring devices that can provide real-time location tracking every 15 minutes while in motion, detect impacts and tampering, monitor battery status, and operate in extreme temperatures with a minimum 5-year battery life. The government plans to evaluate quotes based on technical capability (across four subfactors including device transmission, installation, data management, and interface capabilities), past performance, and price using a best value selection process. The contract structure will be a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with both Firm Fixed Price and Time-and-Materials line items. Interested vendors must register for the virtual Industry Day by 4:00 PM Central Time on June 12, 2025, with the virtual sessions scheduled for June 17-18, 2025.

This opportunity is designated as a total small business set-aside under NAICS code 488210 (Support Activities for Rail Transportation) with a size standard of $34 million. The contract will span a base period from November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2026, followed by four option years and a potential six-month extension through April 30, 2031. The pricing structure estimates 1,500 remote monitoring devices in the base year expanding to 1,700 devices in subsequent option years, with installation travel costs budgeted at $50,000 for the base year and $10,000 for each option year. The Total Evaluated Price framework shows a base year price of $60,000, Option Year 1 at $50,000, and subsequent years at $10,000, though the draft pricing attachment currently shows $0 unit prices for the remote monitoring device hardware. Performance standards require 99% device installation accuracy, 99.5% system uptime, and less than 1% device failure rate within 12 months of installation.