WMATA extends RFP deadline for Silver Line extension operator

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has extended the deadline for proposals to operate the Metrorail Silver Line extension after construction is completed in 2020. The new request for proposals (RFP) deadline is March 18, 2019.

The agency is providing more time to accommodate the “considerable number of vendors who expressed interest” in the RFP, WMATA officials said in a press release. A pre-proposal conference and four-day tour of the extension’s associated operations and maintenance was attended by 70 people representing two dozen companies, they said. Plus, 115 others joined the pre-proposal conference through a virtual meeting room.

“In addition to U.S. vendors, and others from Canada, France, Spain, Italy and Japan, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 officials expressed interest in the process,” WMATA officials said.

To help those interested in the RFP, WMATA plans to host several online forums to engage further dialogue and provide additional opportunities for clarifications from the agency’s subject matter experts.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is building the $2.7 billion Silver Line extension, which will run 11.7 miles from Reston, Virginia, to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, Virginia.