REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS For Concession of Services for MDOT-Owned Freight Railroad Lines on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in Delaware through Public-Private Partnership (P3)

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) through the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is pleased to present this Request for Proposals (RFP) to those Proposers that were shortlisted in the Request for Qualification (RFQ) selection process.

MDOT hereby invites each Proposer to submit a competitive proposal (“Proposal”) in response to this RFP to improve, manage, operate, maintain, and finance the MDOT Freight Rail P3 Project pursuant to the P3 Agreement in accordance with these Instructions to Proposers (ITP). The Proposer selected through the RFP to enter into the P3 Agreement is hereinafter referred to as the P3 Operator.

The scope of P3 Operator’s services under the P3 Agreement is to operate and maintain the Corridors to the standards and expectations described in these Technical Requirements and as a proactive and collaborative partner to MDOT and MTA throughout the Term.

The P3 Agreement is a performance-based contract. The P3 Operator shall operate and maintain the Corridors to satisfy the performance standards described in these Technical Requirements.

The Corridors include MTA-Owned freight railroads on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in Delaware known as the “Chestertown Line”, the “Centreville Line”, the “Cambridge Line” and the “Preston Track” [...] The Corridors consist of the generally 66-foot-wide railroad line and real property with a combined total main line track length of approximately 93 miles [...] The approximately 93 miles include approximately 58 miles of Active Rail Lines, approximately 19 miles of Inactive Rail Lines, and approximately 16 miles that are Railbanked Lines under the National Trails Systems Act.

The P3 Operator shall provide common carrier freight rail service on the Corridors as described in this Section 1.3.2 (Freight Rail Services).

Work following NTP2

Upon issuance of NTP2, MDOT shall grant the P3 Operator the right to enter upon the Corridors and perform the following Services:

• Provide freight rail services in accordance with operating rules and practices established in 49 CFR parts 217 and 218.
• Perform Capital Work, planning and implement a program of privately funded and financed capital investments along the Corridors to achieve more cost-efficient operations, and a required State of Good Repair (SOGR) as established in Section 5.1 (State of Good Repair).
• Complete systemic Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Work [...] including, but not limited to, tracks, roadbeds, culverts, vegetation, bridges, grade crossings (where required by the Contract Documents) and any other infrastructure.
• Perform property management services, such as the administration of third-party uses of the railroad Corridors for occupancies, grade crossings, or other permanent or temporary uses.
• Execute an active marketing and business development strategy to accomplish the goals in the program of capital investments and market property management services in accordance with the relevant sections of the CMP.
• Create, archive and preserve asset management data in accordance with Section 5.4 (Asset Management Tracking Requirements).

Only those who submitted an SOQ in response to the RFQ and were shortlisted under the RFQ are eligible to submit Proposals in response to this RFP. This RFP supersedes the RFQ, provided that, to the extent necessary for historical, interpretive, or contextual purposes, the RFQ will be understood to govern with respect to the period prior to issuance of this RFP.

The financial model is expected to be a live, formula-driven tool based in Microsoft-Excel. [...] The 40-year financial model must include comprehensive pro forma schedules and cash flow summaries that clearly illustrate all major financial components.

The use of macros is not permitted.

As an accompaniment to the P3 Operator Financial Model, the Proposer shall provide an *Assumptions Book*.