Track System Safety Research

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Offers are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

Solicitation No. 6913G626Q300043 is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This solicitation is being conducted under FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This solicitation document and Incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2026-01, effective 03/13/2026. The NAICS Code is 541330; the Small Business size standard is $25.5M.

This solicitation incorporates provisions and clauses; full text of provisions and clauses may be accessed electronically at http://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul

The U.S. Department of Transportation/John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) intends to solicit and award on a sole source basis with David Jeong, North Reading, MA, in accordance with FAR  6.103-1(a) and (b). The Volpe Center has a requirement for Track System Safety Research Rail Integrity Consulting Services. The contractor shall provide engineering consulting services to the Volpe Center on track system safety research. The comprehensive management of track safety requires a unified analytical framework that addresses both track buckling (compressive failure) and rail breaks (tensile/fracture failure). This highly specialized, deep historical knowledge and technical expertise will assist the Volpe Center with providing support to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Track Safety Research Program, in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW) below.

STATEMENT OF WORK (Begin)

1. Scope of Work

The Contractor must provide engineering consulting services to the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center’s (Volpe Center) Structures and Dynamics Division in support of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Track Safety Research Program. This effort focuses on track system safety research, specifically the prevention of rail failures and track buckling. The Contractor must perform recorded 1-hour technical consultations and deliver associated presentations, technical white papers, and electronic data files throughout the base and option periods.

2. Background

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center has supported FRA’s Track Safety Research Program since the 1970s. This program focuses on mitigating the risks of track failures. Preventing failures is critical because a broken rail or bucked track can derail a train. Derailments can cause service interruptions, environmental damage, and loss of life. Rail failures typically occur due to fatigue crack (defect) growth from service loads of passing trains repeatedly subject the rail to wheel contact forces and bending, causing defects to form and grow [1].

Rail Failures:  Rail defects grow slowly at first but accelerate over time. Without repair, a defect can reach a critical size and fracture the rail. The industry calls the period from when a defect becomes visible to when it reaches critical size the "slow crack-growth life [2]." Railroads measure this life in million gross tons (MGT) of traffic.

A primary goal of rail integrity research is to set rail inspection frequencies based on this safe crack-growth life. Volpe Center research helps establish these guidelines. Because railroads continue to increase traffic density and axle loads, the FRA must update its inspection strategies. Researchers use modern advances in metal fatigue, solid mechanics, fracture mechanics, and nondestructive inspection to improve these strategies. Today, surface damage is more likely to lead to broken rails than manufacturing defects, and surface damage can disrupt modern inspection technologies [1].

Track Buckling:  Railroads must also manage rail neutral temperature (RNT) to prevent rail pull-aparts and lateral track buckling in continuous welded rail. If the RNT is too high compared to the actual rail temperature, cold weather can generate large tensile forces, accelerating crack growth and eventually fracturing the rail. Conversely, if the RNT is too low, hot weather can generate large compressive forces and buckle the track. If a rail breaks or buckles, railroads must adjust and re-weld it. Railroads maintain the RNT at a controlled level (approximately 90 °F) that withstands stress at both maximum and minimum rail temperatures.

3. Objective

The Contractor must provide engineering consulting services to the Volpe Center on track system safety research. These consulting services consist of 1-hour recorded video calls with Volpe Center staff in the Structures and Dynamics Division and the preparation of presentation materials. In preparing presentation materials, the Contractor may:

Review and assess rail integrity accidents, technology, and research.

Analyze track infrastructure and its components under various loading conditions.

Formulate recommendations for track system safety research and technologies needed to reduce broken rail and track buckling derailments.

These services will help the Volpe Center provide technical support to the FRA Track Safety Research Program. The deliverables associated with these objectives consist of technical presentations and all electronic data files developed to perform the tasks.

4. Description of Work

The work occurs over a 1-year base period and two 1-year option periods, organized under the following Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs):

CLIN 0100: Base Period (Months 1–12)

CLIN 0200: Option Year 1 (Months 13–24)

CLIN 0300: Option Year 2 (Months 25–36)

The Contractor must perform the following tasks continuously across the base period and any exercised option periods.

Task 1 – Track Buckling The Contractor must provide engineering consulting services by leading recorded 1-hour technical virtual or in-person meetings. Topics include:

Engineering analysis of track buckling incidents.

Current industry practices for rail neutral temperature (RNT) management to prevent track buckling, including simplifying assumptions and limitations.

FRA-sponsored research addressing RNT assumptions and new technologies.

FRA training and software for RNT management.

Global sensitivity analyses applied to track buckling models.

Task 2 – Rail Failures The Contractor must provide engineering consulting services by leading recorded 1-hour technical virtual or in-person meetings. Topics include:

Engineering analysis of rail safety incidents involving cold weather rail pull-aparts.

RNT management practices to prevent rail pull-aparts.

Updates to the slow crack-growth life model developed by Orringer et al.

Global sensitivity analyses on rail integrity models, including critical defect size and slow crack-growth life.

Rolling contact fatigue management and transition to transverse defect.

Effects of contact stresses, residual stresses, and rail head wear on rail integrity.

The Contractor must provide presentations on a quarterly basis, a technical white paper prior to the conclusion of each CLIN period, and any electronic data files used to create the deliverables.

5. Government Furnished Information

The Government will furnish secure access to the source code for the slow crack growth model under Task 2 Rail Failures. If the Government requests engineering analyses of track buckling or rail failure incidents, the Government will furnish electronic data files (such as PDFs) related to those incidents.

6. Deliverables and Delivery Dates

The overall period of performance includes a 1-year base period and two 1-year option periods. The Contractor must deliver a total of four 1-hour presentations per year.

Table 1. Description of Deliverables

(See attached Table for CLINs and description of deliverables)

7. Acceptance Criteria

The Government will provide written comments on deliverables via email within 10 business days of receipt. The Contractor must resubmit deliverables, incorporating Government comments, within 10 business days.

8. Electronic Data Files

The Contractor must email deliverables under 20 megabytes to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). The Contractor must upload deliverables over 20 megabytes to a secure file-sharing service provided by the Government.

All electronic data files developed to perform the tasks and develop the information used to accomplish this Statement of Work are deliverables under each CLIN. Government retains all rights to modify and distribute the data files. The deliverables must not require any additional proprietary software (such as an in-house compiler, interpreter, or application that is not commercially available) to execute and be employed as an analysis tool. The Contractor may use open source (such as Python, Rust, and Fortran) or commercially available software (such as MathCAD, MATLAB, and Microsoft Excel) to develop the deliverables. The Contractor must deliver copies of all electronic data files developed, including source codes, software scripts, input files, and output files, to the Volpe Center before the end of the period of performance.

References:

[1] D. Y. Jeong, “Progress in Rail Integrity Research,” U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT/FRA/ORD-01/18, 2001.

[2] O. Orringer, Y. H. Tang, J. E. Gordon, D. Y. Jeong, J. M. Morris, and A. B. Perlman, “Crack Propagation Life of Detail Fractures in Rails,” U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT/FRA/ORD-88/13, 1988.

Statement of Work (End)

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS:
This combined synopsis/solicitation hereby incorporates all Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions and clauses contained herein and attached.

FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Deviation  apply to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference. Vendors are required to meet all solicitation requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in a vendor submission being ineligible for award. If the vendor finds it necessary to take exception to any of the requirements specified in the solicitation, the vendor shall clearly identify where it is addressed in its proposal. Each exception shall clearly identify the specific paragraph and/or part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken.

Please provide a firm fixed price quotation in accordance with Table 1. A price must be entered for each CLIN and a total for all CLINs.

The Government intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order with a Base and two (2) Option CLINs which may or may not be exercised, as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation.

The following clauses also apply to this solicitation:

FAR 52.217-5, Evaluation of Options  

FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2020)

FAR 52.212-2 , Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2025) is hereby incorporated by reference.

FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (DEVIATION SEP 2025) is hereby incorporated by reference. Additional clauses and provisions that apply to this acquisition are provided in the attached terms and conditions.

The following Transportation Acquisition Regulation (TAR) Clause is incorporated as an attachment:

TAR Clause 1252.232-70 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests, (TAR Class Deviation 2025-02_A1)

Contractors must maintain their SAM registration throughout the life of the contract through final payment. Contracting officers must validate the contractor has an active Federal Government contracts registration in SAM.

QUESTIONS

All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing via email to the Contracting Officer, Karen Marino, no later than July 27, 2026, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

The offer should be addressed to the following: U.S. Department of Transportation, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Attn: Karen Marino, V222, 220 Binney Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. The signed offer must be submitted via e-mail to the contracting officer Karen.Marino@dot.gov. The time for receipt of offers is 3:00 PM Eastern Time on 08/03/2026. No telephone requests will be honored. The Government will not pay for any information received.