LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT TO to SHARMA & ASSOCIATES INC.

LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION FR24RDI20000000113 Estimated Total Value $742,675.00J7A Tracking number#JA-24-0004 1. Contracting Agency: United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Acquisition and Grants Services, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC 20590. 2. Action to be Approved: The FRA intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Sharma & Associates, Inc., to conduct follow-on research for Very Long Train (VLT) Collaboration Study to evaluate safety and performance of VLT under an extended set of operating conditions.

3. Description of the Services: Research to evaluate safety and performance of VLT under an extended set of operating conditions.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition of these services is contained in 41 U.S.C. § 253(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6 (a)(1)(B), "Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized".

5. Reason for Authority Cited: There is only one source, Sharma & Associates, Inc., that can quickly, cost effectively and at the level of quality required, continue this critical railroad safety test and simulation effort. This requirement is a follow-on to the initial VLT work under contract 693JJ618D000006 which expired on 06/17/2023.

FRA is sole sourcing this requirement to the incumbent contractor (Sharma & Associates, Inc.) because of their unique position as the only source that has the experience with previous railroad collaboration and research and additionally the experience with Train Energy and Dynamics Simulator (TEDS), the simulation software used previously and going forward in this effort.

The contractor developed the design of test including specialized instrumentation and designed the loading, for appropriate gross rail load, of the eight boxcars used in the previous testing, for the FRA.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: RFI via GSA’s Market Research as a Service was issued on Feb 6, 2024. Market research report showed that there was no response to the issued RFI by GSA.

7. Action to Increase Competition: The contracting officer will continue to review GSA schedules to determine if a competitor develops on a schedule.

8. Market Research: RFI via GSA’s Market Research as a Service was issued on Feb 6, 2024. Market research report showed that there was no response to the issued RFI by GSA.

9. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have expressed an interest, in writing, in the proposed acquisition.

10. Other Factors:

N/A 11. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the technical requirements and the technical justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.