Railroad Employee Fatigue and Scheduling Pilot Program Study

PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE

1. General Information

• Document Type: Pre-Solicitation Notice
• Notice ID: FR26RDI20000000059
• Title: Railroad Employee Fatigue and Scheduling Pilot Program Study
• Department/Agency: Department of Transportation (DOT) / Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
• Office: Office of Acquisition Services / Office of Research, Development & Technology
• Classification Code (PSC): AS12 Transportation R&D Services; Surface transportation, public transit, and rail; Applied Research
• NAICS Code: 541720 – Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
• Set-Aside: Full and Open / Unrestricted

2. Description & Requirement Details

• The Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Human Factors Division conducts research in areas such as human fatigue, the human performance of railroad system operators, and organizational safety culture. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, SEC. 22408 (Completion of Hours of Service and Fatigue Studies), requires the FRA to conduct pilot studies concerning employee scheduling practices. In response, the FRA’s Human Factors Division must conduct a pilot program or research project aimed at identifying fatigue countermeasures and methodologies to generate practices that maximize alertness and reduce employee fatigue.
• Contract Type: Firm-Fixed-Price
• Period of Performance:12 months from Contract Effective Date.

The Government will obtain perpetual, non‑exclusive, irrevocable rights to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, and create derivative works from all deliverables produced under this contract, including reports, analytic models, pilot‑study outputs, fatigue‑assessment methodologies, scheduling‑framework materials, and any associated documentation.

These rights include permission from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to share the deliverables within the Department of Transportation (DOT), other Federal agencies, State/local agencies, and regulated stakeholders for safety, research, regulatory, and policy‑support purposes.

Offerors must identify any third‑party intellectual property, proprietary limitations, or licensing restrictions that may affect the Government’s intended use. The Contractor warrants that all materials delivered under this requirement will be free from legal or proprietary restrictions that would impede Government use unless explicitly disclosed and accepted by the Government in writing.

3. Publicizing & Submission Details

• Anticipated Solicitation Release Date: [10 days from posting]
• Posting Duration: This notice will remain posted on the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) via SAM.gov for a minimum of 10 calendar days in accordance with FAR Part 5 requirements.
• Direct Solicitation Notice: While direct solicitations may be transmitted to pre-identified potential sources, all responsible sources may submit a response/capability statement/proposal which shall be considered by the agency.
• Response Instructions: Full details, instructions, and final evaluation criteria will be included upon release of the formal solicitation on SAM.gov.

4. Contracting Office & Contact Information

• Contracting Office Address:

Office of Acquisitions, West Building, 3rd Floor

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE

Washington, DC 20590

• Primary Point of Contact:

Akwasi Kankam, Contracting Officer

Email: akwasi.kankam@dot.gov

• Technical Contact:

Donald Tweedie, FRA

donald.tweedie@dot.gov