Meeting Date: July 19, 2006  

Subject: Procurement Authorization: Supply Of  Non-Revenue Utility Vehicle / Rail Shunter - Srt System

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Commission authorize the acceptance of the proposal submitted by Mross Import Service Ltd. (Mross) in the amount of $619,517.00, for the Supply of a Unimog Utility Vehicle / Rail Shunter for the SRT system. TTC will self-assess the Ontario Retail Sales Tax of $46,756.00 bringing the total required authorized amount to $666,273.00

The total amount is derived as follows:

Base Proposal Price / $726,450.00

Delete supply & installation of 2 couplers  (142,000.00)

Subtotal / $584,450.00

GST @ 6% 35,067.00

Award Value / $619,517.00

ORST @ 8% 46,756.00

Required Authorization $666,273.00

Funding

Funds in the amount of $500,000 are included in Project 4.23 Purchase of Rail Non-Revenue Vehicles, under SRT Locomotive (Unimog) as set out on pages 1123-1125 in the “Improvement” category of the 2006-2010 Capital Program, as approved by City Council on December 12, 2005. The $500,000 allowed for in the TTC 2006-2010 Capital Program was contemplated to be spent in 2006, however based on the timing of the delivery, will now be incurred in 2007. The proposed TTC 2007-2011 budget will be revised to increase the EFC by $155,000 to $655,000 to cover the contract pricing plus in-house inspection, prep-for-service and commissioning costs.

Background

There is currently only one locomotive (ST-1) that can be used for maintenance projects, train recovery, snow removal, etc. on the SRT line. This locomotive was built in Japan 25 years ago. As this vehicle continues to age, reliability is declining and procurement of repair parts is becoming increasingly difficult. Last winter, ST-1 was out of service for over three months due to problems with the transmission torque converter. It was fortunate that an emergency situation or major snow storm did not occur requiring the use of a locomotive. However, Track & Structures’ scheduled maintenance work was disrupted. Attempts to lease a trackmobile as a back-up were unsuccessful as the available units exceeded the SRT clearance envelope and could not be readily modified to comply.

To ensure that no reoccurrence took place, Staff developed a specification for a utility vehicle / rail shunter capable of substituting for the locomotive if the latter is unavailable for service. By equipping this vehicle with a crane, it can be utilized by Track & Structures crews as a general utility vehicle.

Vancouver’s transit system (Skytrain) operates a similar line to our SRT. In the absence of a dedicated locomotive, they utilize two Unimogs as utility and retrieval work vehicles. Staff at Skytrain have indicated that they are extremely satisfied with the reliability and performance of these vehicles and strongly recommend them for this type of application.

Skytrain acquired both of their Unimogs through Mross. They indicated that Mross provided exceptional service and support to Skytrain by arranging for installation of wheel insulating discs, cranes, generators and hi-rail equipment in addition to designing and installing custom hydraulic rail clamps.

Discussion

Specifications and drawings were prepared and a request for proposals was posted on M&P’s Website as of May 3, 2006. Four (4) companies were invited to submit proposals, out of which one (1) company submitted a proposal as summarized in Appendix A.

Mross’ proposal included two minor qualifications which were deemed acceptable by Maintenance Engineering Staff.

A revised specification was issued to Mross with a request to delete the supply and installation of two Delner couplers. Mross will still provide the vehicle prepared with mounting structures and TTC will supply and install the couplers. On June 26, 2006, Mross provided an email stating a price reduction to delete the supply of the couplers. The proposal submission also indicated a delivery of 275 calendar days versus 273 days specified, which has been accepted by Staff. Their proposal is considered commercially acceptable. As payment is based on delivery, the expenditure for this purchase will now be incurred in 2007 instead of the previously planned 2006.

The three companies that did not submit proposals have advised Staff that it would be too costly to modify or custom make a vehicle similar to the one specified.

Justification

A utility vehicle / rail shunter is required to provide a backup to the aging ST-1; the only self-propelled maintenance vehicle on the SRT line. The recommended vehicle (Unimog) is commonly used in rail applications with requirements similar to the SRT line. Skytrain (Vancouver) utilize two of these vehicles which are their only sources of locomotive power.

Equipping this vehicle with a hydraulic system and crane will allow its use as an additional piece of maintenance equipment, particularly for projects such as the power rail replacement. In addition, this vehicle will adapt easily for installation of a power rail brush (as used in the subway system), enabling it to be an effective tool for snow removal on the SRT line, dramatically reducing the risk of line closure due to snow buildup.  Currently, the snow removal equipment that is available for clearing the SRT line lacks the effectiveness of the power rail brushes used on the subway line.

June 27, 2006

6-192/79

Appendix A – Summary of Proposals

Sketch 1 – Utility Vehicle / Rail Shunter