TO ALL INTERESTED COMPANIES
ANSWERS TO CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS TO TENDER
For the supply Project BG-GR 2003/005-630-01 Modernization the safety and telecommunication installations of the railway track Blagoevgrad– Kulata, Publication reference: EuropeAid/120380/7D/S/BG
NOTE: CONTRACTING AUTHORITY PROVIDES HERE ANSWERS TO REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY IS NOT IN A POSITION TO FOLLOW STRONG INSTRUCTIONS FOR REVISION OF THE TENDER DOCUMENTS AS HAS BEEN REQURED BY SOME OF THE TENDERERS.
SOME PROPOSALS FOR CORRECTIONS ARE NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO PROCEDURAL REGULATONS OF PHARE PROGRAM (EX: THE TEXTS OF THE GENERAL CONDITIONS CAN NOT BE MODIFIED)
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, WHICH ARE CLEARLY ANSWERED BY THE ALREADY STATED IN THE TENDER DOCUMENTS ARE NOT PROVIDED
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON VOLUME I OF THE TENDER DOCUMENTS
Question1: According to what is referred in point 10.2., “All tenders must be submitted in one original, marked “original”, and five copies signed in the same way as the original and marked “copy”. Does this mean that both original and copies must be signed as original? Or only the original should be signed, and then the copies shall be made? Answer1: The original must be signed with blue ink. The copies should be photocopies of the signed original. By all means, it would be also acceptable if copies are originally signed with blue ink.
Q2: Should all the pages of the tenders be sequentially numbered, or the numbering can be done by chapter? A2: The numbering must be sequential within each volume. Restarting numbers on every chapter are not acceptable.
Q3: According to point “11. Content of tenders”, the tenders shall be constituted by a technical bid (point 11.1), a financial bid (point 11.2) and other documents (points 11.3 to 11.11). It is our understanding that, according to point 10.4., all these documents (technical, financial and other) could be joined in a single folder (or several, depending on occupied space) and then placed in a sealed envelope, which will be itself placed in another sealed envelope. Is this understanding correct? A3: This is the correct understanding of Articles 10.2 and 10.4.
Q4: What is exactly required on point 11.7. “A description of the commercial warranty tendered”? A description of the warranty services proposed by the Tenderer? A4: The description of the commercial warranty aims to: - Prove to the Contracting Authority the compliance with the required in Article 32 of the Special Conditions and with the technical annex;
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 1 - Describe the concrete services offered by the Tenderer for the warranty period (proper personnel, time of reaction, replacement and transportation of damaged equipment during repair periods etc.)
Q5: If the Tenderer is a consortium of several companies, can the tender guarantee required on point 11.8. be issued by the consortium leader, considering that the leader is procured by the other consortium members to bind the consortium? A5: The tender guarantee would be acceptable only if the entity liable is 1) the leader or 2) the whole consortium jointly and severally. Please, note that the text of the Tender Guarantee says: on behalf of {Contractor’s name and address}. The “Contractor” is either 1) a single firm or 2) the whole consortium. Only 1) the leader (in case of consortium) is considered to be the firm authorized to act “on behalf” of the consortium or 2) a consortium can act on his own behalf. Therefore there are 3 acceptable options for {Contractor’s name and address} – 1) single Tenderer’s name and address, 2) leader’s name and address and 3) consortium’s name and address (if the case).
Q6: In the contents of the Special Conditions (Volume I, Special Conditions, Contents - page 21) articles 7, 8,12,15,17 and 33 are described, but they do not exist in the document body Can you specify should the above-mentioned articles be present in the document body and what to be their content? A6: The non-presence of text in the Special Conditions, under the above mentioned articles, means that there is no derogation from the General Conditions (please observe the General Conditions anywhere the Special Conditions do not interfere).
Q7: Item 11.3 Page 8 of the Invitation to Tender. Please, confirm that the details of the bank account should be delivered according to the form “Financial Identification” attaches on the Tender Dossier. A7: It is hereby confirmed that the above is correct.
Q8: Item 16.1 of Procurement Notice: Economic and Financial Standing. In this item is said: “Full information shall be provided by appropriate forms for all consortium partners and all subcontractors regardless of the formulation of the criteria below…” However, there is any form to be completed by the subcontractors. Please, could you explain the information to be provided about the subcontractor and the “appropriate form” to be used? A8: The term “form” has not been used in a sense of a document template to be “filled-in”. The requirement of providing full information by appropriate forms for all Tenderers (including consortium partners) and all subcontractors is with reference to the Selection Criteria of the Procurement Notice (PN), which shall be proved. The forms appropriate are various. For example: - the evidence for Tenderer’s legal status (as per Articles 3.1 and 3.2) obviously should be a court registration and current status; - the quality system the Tenderer operates under (as per Article 16.2, b) of the PN) should be proved by certificate; - in case of consortium it shall be proved he has nominated a leading partner who would indeed undertake to provide at least 50% of the supplies directly; - the Tenderer (single firm or consortium) has to prove he would not subcontract more than 30% of the deliveries/installations. All the information for compliance of the Tenderers with the requirements of the tender documents has to be disclosed and guaranteed by means of documentary proofs.
Q9: Could you confirm that all the duties and importation taxes and VAT are excluded of the total contract price and that the project is exempt of these taxes? A9: This is hereby confirmed on the grounds of:
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 2 - Art. 13 “Taxation and Customs”, item 2 of Annex A to the Framework Agreement, pursuant to which “Imports under supply contracts concluded by the authorities of the Recipient and financed out of the EC Grant shall be allowed to enter the state of the Recipient without being subject to customs duties, import duties, taxes or fiscal charges having equivalent effect”; -Art. 59, item 1 of the VAT Act and Art. 665, para 1, item 8 or Art. 665, para 3 respectively of the Rules Implementing the Customs Act (RICA). Only the main contractor (Firm or Consortium of a leading partner) is exempted from VAT and customs taxes. Sub-contractors get use of no exemption. Therefore, the main contractor in case of in-country transactions has to pay his suppliers and sub-contractors with VAT taxation and would be able to subsequently refund the respective amount (if registered for VAT credit). For supplies, imported from eligible countries of origin (reference is made in Art. 29.4 of the Special Conditions to a specific procedure), the particular supplies shall not be imposed with customs taxes and VAT, following a detailed procedure in which the Customs Agency is presented with the respective contract (together with all annexes and technical specifications thereof) and the invoices accompanying the shipment corresponding to the technical specifications.
Q10: Item 10.2 of Invitation to Tender. Please, should the firm representative sign all the pages of the tender or only those in which the signature is required specifically (for example: Form D, financial bid,..) A10: There is no special requirement of initialing the pages of the whole tender.
Q11: Please, confirm the period of execution of the Lot 1. A11: Contracting Authority has requested extension of the period of execution, which will be extended till end of June 2006 including the Provisional Acceptance of the supplies. The change will appear in the contract and is applicable only for Lot 1.
Q12: If subcontracting is expected, does it mean that the relevant subcontractor must be officially declared in the proposal of the Tenderer and what is the form of presenting; what must be the relevant documentation attached to the proposal? A12: If the Tenderer has intention to sub-contract some activities he shall nominate the chosen sub-contractor and shall provide for the nominated sub-contractor the following: - documents as per Articles 3 and 11.11 from the Instructions to Tenderers; - description of the activities to be sub-contracted and calculation of their proportion in accordance with the Selection criteria set in the PN, Clause 16.1, a);
Q13: If а Partnership is to be formed, is it an obligatory provision for each one of the partners to follow and correspond to the technical, financial and professional capacity requirements stipulated in the Selection Criteria from the Supply Procurement Notice? Are these requirements just obligatory for the Leader of the Consortium? A13: The Selection Criteria set in Clause 16 of the PN clearly indicates the application of the requirements – to the firm or the leading partner of a consortium. Only the criterion under clause 16.6 applies to the “firm or the consortium as a whole).
Q14: Regarding the obligatory provisions for the technical capacity stipulated in the Selection Criteria from the Supply Procurement Notice /16. 3. Technical capacity of the Tenderer/, please specify what is the correct form of submitting evidence to the satisfaction of the Contracting Authority? Do we have to submit any specific documents from any authorities or it is just our lists of major projects with their descriptions? A14: The text of Article 16.3, a) describes the requirements for technical capacity and the information to be presented to the Contracting Authority. The Tenderers shall list the relevant projects for the respective amounts, the period of their implementation, their location, concrete
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 3 subject of implementation, the names of the clients. Any supporting document will have the function of verification, but is not obligatory. The Contracting Authority trough the appointed Evaluation Committee may ask for further clarifications and/or verifications if considers it necessary.
Q15: Please specify the meaning of ‘an authorized and established network of service points’, as well as the form of evidence. (Supply Procurement Notice, Art.16/b: ‘b) The Tenderer (firm or the consortium as a whole) has to provide evidence that an authorized and established network of service points is ensured for all items tendered covering the particular locations of delivery for the respective lot for which the Tenderer applies…’) A15: The evidence(s) aims to prove to the Contracting Authority that the Tenderer (firm or the consortium as a whole) has an authorized (by the manufacturer(s) of the supplies) network of service points for all items tendered, covering the particular locations of delivery for the respective lot for which the Tenderer applies.
Q16: Please specify the form of completing and submission of the sets of proposals. As separate Technical and Financial Proposal are required for submission and evaluation, does it mean that the same must be put in separate envelopes in a way that the Technical Proposal may not contain any Financial Information? A16: Please, see Question and Answer 3 above.
Q17: As there are provisions that certain preparation and submission of Drawings and Detail Design are to be done by the Contractor, does it mean that we have to calculate our costs for the design work and what is the correct form of including the relevant prices in our Financial Proposal? A17: The cost for detail design should be included in the unit/overall prices of the supplies as their transportation, commissioning and installation according to Article 11.2, a) from the Instructions to Tenderers.
Q18: Regarding the Insurance, do we have to submit any draft Insurance Policy with our tender proposal? If so what are the financial requirements for the different cases? A18: Contracting Authority has no special requirements for insurance of the goods. The Contractor must follow the Incoterms conditions for delivery DDP places of installation according to the contract conditions. Concerning health insurance for the contractor’s staff and/or third parties during the installation, the respective Bulgarian law shall apply.
Q19: It is stipulated that the supporting documents that are in a different language than English are to be accompanied by a faithful translation. Does the translation have to be verified by a judicial interpreter or can it be a plain translation? How such translations and copies must be certified for as true and correct versions? Are the copies of reference letters from previous Customers and Assignors to be considered for supporting documents? A19: The text in Article 9.2 from the Instructions to Tenderers says “accurate translation”. There is no requirement for certification by juridical interpreter. At the same time Tenderers should note the language of the procedure will prevail and the accurate translation of the documents into English is in their favor. Any references by Employers are accepted, but will not form part of the actual evaluation according to the criteria for administrative, financial, eligibility and technical requirements of the tender documents. Exception is the references, which prove any of the Tenderer’s qualifications, capacity or experience in direct connection with the described criteria.
Q20: Please provide extension of four weeks i.e. Deadline for Submission of tenders – 26 September 2005, 14:00h and Tender Opening Session – 26 September 2005, 15:00h
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 4 A20: Contracting Authority has requested an extension of the tender submission period. The respective Corrigendum to the PN will be published on the web site of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and on the web site of the EC in due time.
Q21: Please clarify the payments: we understand that the payments are made directly to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Republic of Bulgaria (which is a Party to this present Contract) and not to NRIC (National Railways infrastructure company). A21: Yes, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works will be party of the contract in its capacity of Contracting Authority (CA) for Phare Cross Border Cooperation program. The Beneficiary of the project - National Railway Infrastructure Company will become owner of the assets upon the provisional Acceptance of the supplies. CA will make the payments to the Contractor. The Beneficiary trough its established Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will be in contact with the Contractor for the technical implementation of the project (detail design approval, access to sites, experts to be trained, acceptance of the supplies, etc.). Although within another administrative structure, for the needs of the present project, the PIU may be considered as technical unit within the CA. The signature of the Beneficiary on the contract will be by means of endorsement for commitment their selves.
Q22: Subject – time limits and Period of execution Please delete the date of 30th Oct. 2006 which is not acceptable. Please provide an extension of time of twelve (12) months for the execution of the Contract. We propose a 20 (twenty) month time-period for execution of the Contract as from the date of signature of the Contract. A22: Please, see Answer 11 above.
Q23: Subject - Delivery Duty Paid In our opinion this Incoterm is not suitable to the present contractual situation as the Contractor shall not bear the VAT, customs duties and fees related to the imports. Please confirm that the Contractor shall import free of customs and duties taxes and VAT according to Art. 29.4 of the Specific Conditions). Please send us a copy of the letter to the Head of the Customs Agency with which all imports are exempt of VAT, customs duties etc. In any cases, please add “Acc. Incoterms 2000.” A23: Please, see Question and Answer 9 above. CA is aware the customs term DDP means including import taxation. Having in mind the Contractor under the present project will be responsible for the supplies till the Provisional Acceptance and shall calculate the costs as per Question and Answer 17 above, obviously DDU is not applicable.
Q24: Subject - Transfer of risks Please clarify the transfer of risks as follows: The Contractor bears all the risks of storage, of damage, of stealing of the Lot 1 until the Provisional Acceptance is granted by the Contracting Authority. A24: Yes, the supplies are at the own risk of the Contractor until their Provisional Acceptance for any Lot.
Q25: Subject - Order of precedence of contract documents We agree with the order of precedence of contract documents if they take into account and include the present clarifications. Q25: The present clarification questions and answers shall become part of the tender (the respective position as per the order of precedence of contract documents is “other provisions of the tender dossier”. Taking into consideration the Tenderers shall accept in full the conditions of the tender dossier (signing the Tenderer’s Declaration in Part D), the Tenderers shall enclose copies of all correspondence and notices communicated to him by the Contracting Authority with a signed statement of full acceptance of their content.
Q26: Subject - Special Conditions Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 5 Comments by a Tenderer on Clause 2.1: Acceptable but please exclude the application of the Convention of international sales of Goods, signed in Vienna Convention in 1980. A26: The national jurisdiction could not be divided into law applicable for whatever contract and law, which is excluded from application for the particular case.
Q27: Subject - Special Conditions Comments by a Tenderer on: Clause 9 - The Contractor’s obligations Applicable only for Lot 1 - Paragraph beginning with: “ The Detailed Design shall be approved and stamped by the Expert Technical Council ….within 20 working days…” The sentence is not clear. How many working days has the Project Manager to give his approval to Expert Technical Council? And in case that the Expert Technical Council has not given a response, please confirm that his approval is deemed to be granted after 30 working days after the submission for approval by the Contractor. A27: The Project Manager is the CA or its representative. Taking into consideration the purely technical matter of the detail design approval, it will be preceded by the Beneficiary, within which is the Expert Technical Council. Please, consider 20 working days as total time for approval /if no comment for revision/ on the submitted by the Contractor detail design are issued. The other terms and procedures are as stipulated in the tender/contract documents.
Q28: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 18 - Commencement Order Comments by a Tenderer on the text “The contract shall commence on the date following the date of the signature of the contract by the last party in doing so”: Please add at the end of the sentence that “the Contract is coming into force after receiving the 20% down payment on Contractor’s bank account.” A28: Such modification of the documents is not possible due to procedural reasons.
Q29: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 19 - Period of execution Comments by a Tenderer: Please, notice that we accept the wording “including Provisional Acceptance” only if the Contractor shall not bear liability for delay in case that the Provisional Acceptance has been delayed by the Contracting Authority. A29: The wording remains unchanged. The contract itself stipulates the obligations of the Contracting Authority.
Q30: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 22 – Variations Comments by a Tenderer on the text: “The Contracting Authority reserves the right, “at the time of contracting”,…; “…may not rise or fall … by more than 25% Contract price…” Last sentence: “The unit prices used in the tender shall be applicable to the quantities produced under the variation.” The expression “at the time of contracting” is not clear. We understand that you mean “before the date of the Contract signature”. In case of variations the time schedule has to be revised by both parties accordingly. Acceptable if there is no interruption of production. In case of interruption of production the prices will be revised. A30: This text is the standard one, which sets the limit for the CA according to the Practical Guide for Contract Procedures financed by the budget of the EC. This right is used in exceptional cases and can not be restrictive to whatever party.
Q31: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 26.5 – Methods of payment Comments by a Tenderer on the text: “a) For the 60% pre-financing…” - A down payment of 20% of the Contract price is acceptable but we cannot accept a pre-financing guarantee of 60% of the contract price. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 6 “b) For the 30% instalment” - Please clarify the meaning of the word “installments” : Do you mean “installment” or “installation”? We understand that these “instalments” are granted pro-rata to the partial provisional acceptance according to the Art. 26.6 of the General Conditions. “c) For the balance of 10%” - We understand that 10% of Contract price is granted at final Acceptance with the possibility to give balance/bank guarantee of same amount. We propose the following payment plan: 20% Down Payment. 20% Design Approval 20% Factory tests 30% Prov. Acceptance 10% last payment Please note that the pre-financing guarantee is max. limited to 10% of contract price. Last bullet point: “Final Acceptance certificate signed by all relevant parties” Please delete “all relevant” parties and replace this term by “both” parties. We understand that you mean the Contracting Authority and the Contractor only. If it not the case please specify.
A31: The Methods of payment are not subject of revision due to procedural reasons under PHARE program rules. Using the word installment in singular (not in plural) CA meant the complete activities required for Provisional Acceptance of the supplies, upon which the 30% payment is due. Partial completion as described in Clause 26.6 of the General Conditions and the respective calculation is not foreseen – the subject of the contract will be the delivery, installation, commissioning and training by the Contractor of all the supplies (by means of quantities, technical characteristics, rules of origin respected, documentation as required provided, etc.). Furthermore the Tenderers, signing the Tenderer’s Declaration in Part D of the tender dossier, accept in full these conditions. If you mean the full delivery could fail due to force majeure, the contract treats such cases as well. The Provisional Acceptance certificate will be signed by the PIU within the Beneficiary as per Article 31 of the Special Conditions. Since from that moment the Beneficiary will use the equipment and will become owner of the assets, the warranty period and the Contractor’s obligations can be confirmed and “finally accepted” by the Beneficiary to the Contracting Authority, who will than fulfill its obligations concerning the Final Acceptance.
Q32: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 29.4 – Delivery Comments by a Tenderer on the text: Last sentence: “Consignee" of the deliveries shall be the Contractor” Please delete this sentence. A32: This instruction is for the needs of customs clearance. CA can not be “Consignee” and the recipient of the deliveries at the customs shall be party of the contract because of the duty free import applicable for Phare funded contracts. In case the “Consignee” is a partner within a consortium, it shall be stated the import is on behalf of the consortium and for the needs of the respective project. Otherwise, if the purpose of the deliveries is not proven before the customs, CA can not guarantee any free import.
Q33: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 31 – Provisional acceptance Comments by a Tenderer on the text: First sentence: “…places of installation…” Please precise which are those places. Does it means the stations of Blagoevgrad, Kulata, Sandanski, Petritch Simitli, Tchernitche, P.Yavorov, Kresna, Strumiani, Damianitza, G.Todorov, according Art. 1.4 of the Draft Contract ? A33: Yes. The acceptance will take place at the sites of installation - the supplies shall be accepted by means of check of the quality, quantities, correct installation, successful tests, supporting documents, training, etc. Whatever will be the place of signing the respective Certificate of Provisional Acceptance. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 7 Q34: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 31 – Provisional acceptance Comments by a Tenderer on the text: Second sentence: “…by the Beneficiary, who shall….” Please clarify the meaning of “the Beneficiary”. We understand that it is the NRIC “National Railways infrastructure company”. But this entity is not part of the present Contract! Please also add this definition in the GLOSSARY (Part C. Further Information) A34: Please, see Answers 21, 25 and 31.
Q35: Subject – Special Conditions, Clause 41 – Dispute settlement by litigation Comments by a Tenderer: Please precise the place of venue (Sofia) and the kind of court (commercial court). However we propose to redraft this clause and to agree on an ICC arbitration as follows: “Any disputes arising in connection with this Contract shall be finally settled under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one arbitrator or, if the parties fail to agree upon a sole arbitrator, by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said Rules of Arbitration. The place of arbitration shall be Sofia, Bulgaria, the language of the proceedings shall be English and the arbitration award shall be final and binding on the parties.” A35: The text remains unchanged.
Q36: Subject – General Conditions, Clause 33 – After-sales service Please clarify if this clause is really applicable to the present contract. A36: After-sales services would not form part of this contract. The spare parts shall be proposed in accordance with Article 11.2, b) from the Instructions to Tenderers.
Q37: Subject – General Conditions, Clause 35 – Breach of contract As the Art. 35.3 is referring the Special Conditions in which there is no mention of a liability clause, we propose the following one (to be integrated in the Specific Conditions): “Except for liquidated damages as set out in the Article 21 of the present contract, the Contractor shall not in any circumstances be liable for any loss of use, production, profit, business, contracts, revenues or anticipated savings, any increase in operating costs or any other financial or economic loss or any indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever whether suffered by the Contraction Authority or by any third party. The exclusions and limitations of liability shall apply to all claims of any kind whether as a result of a breach of contract, a defect in the goods delivered, negligence or default on the part of the Contractor, its employees, agents, subcontractors or suppliers. The Contractor shall compensate the Contracting Authority for: - on the one hand, any legal liability for personal injury to or death of any person or damage to third parties’ property and, - on the other hand, for damage to the Contracting Authority ‘s property (other than the goods) to the extent that such personal injury or death or damage is caused by the negligence of the Contractor or of its employees or agents. The total liability of the Contractor on all claims of any kind for any loss or damage resulting from its performance or lack of performance under the contract shall not in any event exceed an amount equal to 10% of the contract price. A37: Clause 35.3 of the General Conditions refers to Special Conditions in case Clause 35.2 is not applicable/enough, which is not the case.
Q38: Subject – General Conditions, Clause 40.2 – Amicable dispute settlement Please clarify and define precisely these expressions. “…in case of decentralized contract, ….conciliation through the European Commission.” A38: The supply contract to be signed is co-finance under Phare Program and thus implemented under decentralized system. Conciliation shall be actually trough the Delegation of the European Commission to Bulgaria as said in Article 40.2 of the Special Conditions. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 8 Q39: Subject – ANNEX 3 – Budget Breakdown - Electronic Interlocking Equipment – In case a Tenderer does not offer variant solution, please clarify if the relative BOQ could remain not filled in. (p.62) - Please confirm the BOQ provided in the tender dossier and please confirm that the Contractor shall submit his offer price in accordance with the am BOQ. The Contractor shall not be responsible for any significant difference between the BOQ provided and the actual BOQ following the executive design. A39: - This part of the Budget Breakdown is based on the Technical Specifications and shall be filled in. - The Responsibilities of the Contractor Authority and the Contractor are described clearly in the Tender Dossier (which provisions will form part of the contract). Significant differences between the BoQ provided and the BoQ following the detail design are not expected. Concerning the variant solution, the tenderer may offer electronic interlocking equipment, based on his own technical solution with the respective BoQ.
Q40: Subject – Part C. Glossary, Contract value. Comment by a Tenderer on the text: “or such other sum as ascertained at the end of the contract as due under the contract.” This part sentence is unclear. Contract value is the value as mention under Art. 3.1 of the contract agreement (page 19). A40: This glossary is a standard one. For example the exact contract amount for fee-base contracts is clear at the end of the contract.
Q41: We could not find any description about daily schedule of works during the project realization. Please specify how will be regulated interaction of railway functionality and rehabilitation works. (for example: 5 hours a day between 00:00 to 03:00 and 22:00 to 24:00) A41: Please, see answer to question 37 within the answers and questions for Lot 1 below.
Q42: Volume 1, Special Conditions, Article 32 Please clarify if content of this article replace a whole Article 32 content of General Conditions with its sub-articles. A42: In PHARE funded contracts, the Special Conditions only amplify or complement and never replace the General Conditions.
Q43: Volume 1, Annex 1 General Conditions, Article 32 you wrote: „... any act or omission, that may develop under use of the supplies in the conditions obtaining in the country of the Contracting Authority.“ Please clarify exact meaning of this sentence. Do we have to provide Warranty that all supplies may be manufactured in Bulgaria? A43: The Tenderer must guarantee the design, the materials and the workmanship. The meaning of the fragment, referred in Art. 32 and your question, is that this guarantee shall not be valid in case of evident omission of Bulgarian operators to follow the manufacturer’s / installer’s written instructions for using and maintenance of the equipment which might lead to and result in damages.
Q44: In case of contract with a Consortium it is necessary to allow consortium partners a procedure for charging their parts directly to achieve maximum of Tax and Customs free option you have offered. In other case, Consortium partner which is not from Bulgaria and has a consortial lead, obligates for their deliveries also to their local Tax regulations. This option may significantly reduce overall price offer to any bid. Please confirm a procedure that consortium partners may charge their performance separately. Are Articles 5. and 27. of General Conditions sufficient/applicable to regulate this issue in case of Consortium? Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 9 A44: Since consortium partners are not “third party” to this contract they may effect supplies directly and issue invoices directly to the Contracting Authority on their own behalf without recourse to Art. 5 – “Assignment”. The leader is still to make a request for payment. If using the financial identification (bank account details) of a partner within the consortium, the partner’s financial identification shall be included in the original tender. If changes in bank details occur later, they must be duly approved by the Contracting Authority). The leader must attach to any request for payment the relevant invoices (his own or partner’s), as indicated in Art. 26.5 of the Special Conditions. Art. 27 envisage payments to be made to third parties (sub-contractors). In that case, prior Contracting Authority’s approval must be obtained to prevent excessive sub-contracting (above 30%) or involving sub-contractors which were not indicated in the tender and/or may not be eligible.
Q45. Is it admissible acceptance and commission procedures to be applied to the different parts of LOT1 “Signalling”, “Telecommunication”, “AXLE Counters”, “AUTOMATIC LEVEL-CROSSINGS” and “DISABLED PASSENGERS” in a separate way? A45: Yes, but only for practical reasons for the protocols preparation. The Provisional Acceptance Certificate shall be one document, whatever annexed to it. The supplies will be considered as accepted upon signature of this certificate by all parties.
Q46: Please, specify which official documents to be included in the offer require a notary approval? A46: It is required to certify by notary all copies of official documents issued by institutions in their original language, with the purpose to present translated those copies, not the originals. In addition, any powers of attorney must be notary certified.
Q47: Volume 1, Instruction to Tenders, clause 11.7: It is unclear what is meant with “a description of the commercial warranty tendered”. Please specify in more details. A2: Please, see Answer 4.
Q48: Volume 1, D Tender Form for a Supply Contract, page 108: “Lot No 3” is mentioned, which does not exist within the tender documentation. Please clarify. A48: Please disregard “Lot No.3”. The Tender form is a template and the brackets allow adaptation.
Q49: Volume 1, Special conditions, clause 26.5: Please clarify the time duration between preliminary acceptance certificate and final acceptance certificate. A49: The time interval between preliminary/provisional acceptance and final acceptance of the supplies is equal to the warranty period, plus max. 30 days (or plus any additional time for completion of outstanding warranty repairs (if any)), whichever comes later.
Q50: Which requirements have to be fulfilled in order to obtain preliminary acceptance certificate? Which requirements have to be fulfilled in order to obtain final acceptance certificate? A50: Provisional acceptance – please, see Answer 31. Final acceptance is after expiration of the warranty period, completion of warranty repairs, which may have appeared during the warranty period of 1 year.
Q51: Subject - Special Conditions, Clause 40.2 – Amicable settlement of disputes Comments by a Tenderer on the text: “The Conciliation procedure applies and the Delegation of the European Commission shall…” Please refer to specific set of rules and please precise the members of this Delegation. A51: Article 40 of the General Condition describes the procedure. At present, without signed contract and mainly without need of amicable settlement, CA could not provide information which Members of the Delegation of the European Commission to Bulgaria will be appointed by the Head of the Delegation for conciliation. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 10 Q52: According to Instructions to Tenderers submitting of the offer should be deemed a full acceptance of the General and Special Conditions. No procedure for negotiation is arranged in articles 21.1-21.4. At the same time according to Special Conditions (page 21) says “In exceptional cases, and with the authorization of the competent Commission departments, other clauses may be introduced to cover specific situations.” A52: The negotiation procedure under Phare program is allowed in exceptional cases (you may refer to the Practical Guide to contract procedures financed by the general budget of the European Communities in the context of external actions, Clause 2.4.6). Under this tender and moreover at the present moment there are no such specific situations.
CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR LOT1
Question 1 : Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.2.4. You wrote: “Connection cables and terminal with CRONE reglettes should be provided for the links with the railway station equipment.” Please specify which FMX interfaces have to be wired to “CRONE reglettes”. Answer 1: The following interfaces of the FCM shall be terminated at repartitors (main distribution frames) or inside the rack for the other equipment: 2 Mbit/s channel interface (A2S) (As per Article 1.2.2) Programmable audio interface (As per Article 1.2.2) Subscriber interface (As per Article 1.2.2) There are 2 subtypes of the subscriber interface – FXS (the side of the telephone set) and FXO (the side of the PABX). Accordingly, the stations with PABX are equipped with FXO; the stations without PABX – with FXS. Local Battery Interface (As per Article 1.2.2) Analog 4 – conduit inlet/outlet on each conference bridge (As per Article 1.2.3) Terminal for synchronization (As per Article 1.2.3)
Question 2: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.2.4. You wrote: “Equipment with terminal instrument should be provided as well.” Please specify “terminal instrument” in detail. Which position in Volume 1, Annex III Budget breakdown and model financial offer is addressing this item and its quantities? Answer 2: This is the insertion tool – mechanical device, which is used to mount (to insert and cut) the copper wire to the reglette (module). This tool must be delivered within point 1.2 “Delivery of MUX” of Volume 1, code 1.2.11. “DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT”. Each MUX shall be delevered with it’s insertion tool.
Question 3: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.3. You wrote: "The telephone exchanges should be digital with an opportunity for joining the IP network.” For different purposes it is very usefull to have connection of PABX with IP network due to actual architecture trends of centralized management and messaging applications, remote service access and others. This may be considered as lower level of “joining”. Voice over IP network (VoIP) could be considered as middle level… Please specify details of functional expectations for this “joining”. Answer 3: The PABX shall have the possibility to be equipped with hardware and software, giving the opportunity for joining the IP network.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 11 Question 4: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.2.1. You wrote: “FCM should be suitable for establisching of various types of global networks and to be especially designed for connecting business networks to the system operators (fig. 3).” We coud not find fig. 3. in your Tender therfore please specify your meaning of “business networks”. Does specified FCM characteristics (in 1.2) and provided interface list for transfer of voice and data (1.2.1.) covers all “especially designed” FCM features. How can we distinguish products that are not “especially designed for …”? Answer 4: The part with the words “FCM should be suitable for establishing of various types of global networks and to be especially designed for connecting business networks to the system operators (fig. 3)” is removed from the documentation, as the listed interfaces and characteristics of the FCM completely cover the expectations from that equipment.
Question 5 : Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.1.3. Distance management and control 1.2, FCM characteristics 7. and 1.3.3. Network management System All items are addressing similar control/management systems with different grade of details. Do you want 3 separate management systems? Just in a 1.3.3. you have specified a “server” which should be included as part of network management system. This component is not visible in Volume 1, Annex III Budget breakdown and model financial offer! Answer 5: The number of the management systems is determined by the tenderеr.
Question 6: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.1.3. Distance management and control 1.2, FCM characteristics 7. and 1.3.3. Network management System All items are addressing similar control/management systems with different grade of details. Can you please change a components list to get a space for this server? We are sure that you will need also platforms for other two management systems but you have not listed them in Bill of quantities. Answer 6: The server is an integral part of each management system. If it is more convinient to you, you may add additional item of the “Bill of Quantities” in your offer.
Question 7: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.1.3. Distance management and control 1.2, FCM characteristics 7. and 1.3.3. Network management System. All items are addressing similar control/management systems with different grade of details. Is it our misinterpretation, please clarify? Answer 7: If it is more convinient to you, you may add additional item of the “Bill of Quantities” in your offer.
Question 8: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.3.3. You wrote: “ The detailed description of the functionality of FCAPS is provided in Annex No.2.” We assume a typewriting error in this case: Annex should be Appendix. We have found in your Tender “Appendix 2 to code 1.2.11” which describes referenced FCAPS. There are two Explicative Memorandums with leading numeration 1.2.12, different titles, different content and codes. Please clarify, consolidate in a corrigendum to get exact referencing schema. Answer 8: The words “Annex No. 2” shall be changed with “APPENDIX 2 to code 1.2.11”. The number in front of the title “SUSPENSION OF OPTICAL CABLE ON COLUMNS OF THE CATENARY NETWORK” on pages 2 and 165 must be changed to 1.2.13.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 12 Question 9: Volume 2. Appendix 1 to code 1.2.11 We can not find a referencing (something like “…is provided in…”) to this part in your technical description. Please clarify. Answer 9: The ITU-T Recommendations are de-facto world standards and the delivery and performance of the fiber optic cable and the other telecommunications equipment must be in accordance to the ITU-T recommendations. There are number of places in the technical description with referencing to the ITU-T Recommendations.
Question 10: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Appendix 3 to code 1.2.11 We can not find a referencing to this part in your technical description. 19 Stations/Premises? Train Radio? Can you provide correlation overview of equipment from Bill of Quantity (or Volume 1, Annex III Budget breakdown and model financial offer) and Stations/Premises? Please clarify. Answer 10: The column “Premises” in the Volume 2 “APPENDIX 3 to code 1.2.11. Premises for disposition of the telecommunication equipment” represents the name of the room in the railway station, where the telecommunications equipment is installed and the fiber optic cable is terminated. The following table provides the correlation overview of equipment with quantity of 15 pieces, shown in Volume 1, Annex III Budget breakdown and model financial offer, code 1.2.11. “DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT” and the locations:
№ Station
1 Blagoevgrad 2 Point 133+160 3 Simitli 4 Power substation Simitli 5 Cherniche 6 Stara Kresna Halt 7 Peyo Yavorov 8 Кresna 9 Strumyani 10 Sandanski 11 Damyanitza 12 Power substation General Todorov 13 General Todorov 14 Кulata 15 Petrich
Here and in the other text of the telecommunication part of the tender documents, if it is not specially described, the word “station” means location for installation of the telecommunication equipment. In most of the cases, but not always, the location of the “station” coincides with the “railway station”.
Question 11: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.4, Item 3. You are specifing interfaces for a local digital telephone exchange…It is somehow unusal to request a new PBX with only a/b ports. We
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 13 can interprete this as your wish to have a maximum capacity for 160 telephone lines. To reuse your analog phones you want to have a/b interfaces. But do you have 160 (120) analog phones already? Don’t you want to have also interfaces for digital phones to? Don’t you want in future to connect also digital phones and exploit features you have specified PABX have to support? We suggest you to define a desired split of 160 telephone ports to for example 80 analog + 80 digital (depending on number of realy available analog phones). We assume that you would want in the future to by a digital telephone sets.
Answer 11: The ports of the PABXs are specified in Volume 2. code 1.2.11, Chapter/Article 1.4, Item 3. The features, specified the PABX to support, including “Identification of calling subscriber”, must be supported for analogue phones.
Question 12: Volume 2. code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.4, Item 6. You are suggesting to tenderers / supliers reuse of available circuit boards from KAPSCH and GT probably motivated with idea to keep a costs as low as possible. We regret to recognize that these boards may be reused just in PABXs of KAPSCH and GT. Please clarify if tenderers have to offer PABX equipment from KAPSCH and GT and if so please provide us with technical identification of desired equipment.
Answer 12: The tenderer is not obliged to use the equipment, stated in the Table in Volume 2, code 1.2.11, Chapter/Article 1.4, Item 6. The tenderer shall offer the interface circuit boards for the telephone exchanges in Sofia /DZITI/ and Dupnitsa /KAPSH/, that will be used for the connection of these switches to the PABX of Blagoevgrad and Kulata:
PABX Producer Serial number Description Quantity
PABX Sofia DZITI FB51473BOA 2M Trunk CAS 2
PABX Sofia DZITI FB51300 R2 MFC receivers 2
PABX Dupnica KAPSCH QPC536 2M Trunk CAS 2
Question 13: Volume 1. ANNEX III : Budget Breakdown – Model financial offer, several times repeated we have found equipment identifications that are unknown for us and provide insufficient information on functionality and quality that have to be offered.
Please clarify if equivalent functional components or material with equivalent quality may be offered for equipment with identification:
Make and assembly of УПМ-24 Mounting of switch lock "Colben Daneg" Delivery of set for switch turnover "СОА - 3"- set Signal lamps for ЧМ 40V/20W Stand СН and ОРВ (ЕЦ-М) with relay and blocks Stand point switches СТ (ЕЦ-М) set with relay and blocks Stand signals СВ (ЕЦ-М) set with relay and blocks Stand multifunctional ОРВ (ЕЦ-М) - set with relay and blocks Stand power supply ТЗ (ЕЦ-М) set with transformers and rectifiers with relay and blocks
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 14 UPM(УПМ) – 24 Cable type СВТ 4х1.5 Cable type СВТ 12х1.5 Cable type САВБТз 2х10 Cable type ТППБП 30x2x0.7mm2 Cable type ТППБП 20х2х0.7 mm2 Cable type ТППБП 10х2х0.7mm2 Cable type ТППБП 6х2х0.7mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 37х1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 30х1.5mm2 Cable type CВОБТ 24x1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 19х1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 16х1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 12х1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 7х1.5mm2 Cable type СВОБТз 4х1.5mm2 In case those equivalents are allowed please provide us with information where can we find appropriate technical, functional and quality specifications.
Answer 13: The terms of the table have the following meanings: 1. УПМ 24 is a cable distributing box used in our devices; 2. СОА – 3 is a three-phase switch apparatus (carrying out the control, detection and locking of the switch) conventionally used in Bulgaria; 3. Signal lamps 40V/20W/20W are used in the “Czech “ optics (ЧМ) of the light signals; 4. The enumerated racks comprise the equipment of our relay interlocking in use given as an example for design; 5. All quoted above items should be replaced in your Specification (Quantitative Calculations) by adequate constructions comprising the apparatuses of the system proposed 6. “Colben Daneg” are switch locking devices mounted on the switch rail at present. They will be used in the future, too. Only their dismantlement and mounting are foreseen; 7. The enumerated cable types are standard for NRIC thus they should be applied in your Offer. The technical parameters of the cables are as follows:
SVT, Uo/U - 0.6/1 kV, BDS 16291-85 Cu conductors • PVC insulation • PVC sheath Cable costruction Construction According to BDS 16291-85 Conductor solid or twisted copper wires, class 1 or 2 according to BDS 904-84 Insulation PVC compound Sheath PVC compound *cable is produced without or with joint filling Color gray; Color SVT-s black
Type codes re circular solid conductor rm circular stranded conductor sm sector stranded conductor
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 15 Technical data Conductor resistance at 20°С According to BDS 904-84 Max. conductor temperature +70°С Max. short circuit temperature +160°С, not more than 5 sec. Rated voltage 0,6/1 kV Bending radius, min. 10 D cable Temperature of laying -5°С Temperature range -30°С to +50°С Flame test BDS IEC 332-1
Color coding Single core black, brown, blue,yellow/green or other colors upon request Double core black and light blue 3 – core black, light blue, brown or yellow/green, black, lightblue 4 - core black, light blue, brown, black or yellow/green, black, light blue, brown 5 - core black, light blue, brown, black, black or yellow/green, black, light blue, brown, black Multiple core Black with numbered pair in each cover or black with number mark on cores and yellow/green core in the outer cover
SVOBT, Uo/U up to 1 kV, BDS 11303-83 Cu conductors • PVC insulation • Pb sheath • Armour st. tapes • PVC sheath TECHNICAL DATA Conductor resistance at 20°C according to BDS 11303-83 Operating temperature max. 70°C Nominal voltage up to 1 кV Test voltage AC, 50 Hz 4 кV Temperature of exploitation - 25°C to + 50°C Bending radius, min Fixed 15 x D cable Tests BDS 11303-83
SAVBT, Uo/U - 0.6/1 kV, BDS 16291-85, Al conductors, PVC insulation, Armour st. tapes, PVC sheath
CABLE COSTRUCTION Construction According to BDS 16291-85 Conductor solid or twisted aluminum wires class 1 or 2, according to BDS 904-84 (IEC 60228) Insulation PVC compound Inner sheath PVC compound Armour steel tapes Sheath PVC compound Color gray
TYPE CODES re circular, solid conductor rm circular, stranded conductor sm sector, stranded conductor
TECHNICAL DATA
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 16 Conductor resistance at 20°С According to BDS 904-84 Max. conductor temperature +70°С Max. short circuit temperature +160°С, not more than 5 sec. Rated voltage 0,6/1 kV Test voltage AC – 4 kV 50 Hz DC – 12 kV Bending radius, min. 15 D cable Temperature of laying -5°С Temperature range –30°С to +50°С Flame test BDS IEC332-1
COLOR CODING Single core black, brown, blue, yellow/green or other colors upon request Double core black and light blue 3 - CORES black light blue brown or yellow/green black light blue 4 - CORES black light blue brown black or yellow/green black light blue brown 5 - CORES black light blue brown black black or yellow/green black light blue brown black MULTI CORES Black with numbered pair in each cover or black with number mark on cores and yellow/gre
TPPBPe... x2x0.4 / TPPBPe... x2x0.6 / TPPBPe... x2x0.5 / TPPBPe... x2x0.7, BDS 9096-83 Polyethylene insulation, unit stranding, laminated sheath, screen, armour, PE protective sheath
CABLE COSTRUCTION Conductor Bare copper conductor diameter 0.4 mm, 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.7mm Insulation PE low density Quad 4 wires are twisted into a quad Units 5 quads are twisted to a basic unit Wrapping Several layers of plastic tapes Screen aluminum tape, thickness no less than 0.04mm, one side coated with copolymer and 1 tinned copper wire with diameter of 0.5mm under the aluminum foil Sheath PE low density with 1.5% carbon black Additional screen Several layers of aluminum tapes thickness 0.2mm Armour Two galvanized steel tapes thickness 0.5mm Protective sheath PE low density with 1.5% carbon black
TYPE CODES T telephone cable P polyethylene insulation P polyethylene sheath B steel tape armor P PE protective sheath E areas with higher electromagnetic influences
TECHNICAL DATA Conductor diameter 0.4mm / 0.5mm / 0.6mm / 0.7mm Conductor resistance at 20°C – max 150Ω/km / 95Ω/km / 65Ω/km / 49Ω/km Mutual capacitance at 800Hz-nom. 48nF/km
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 17 Capacity unbalances at 800Hz - K1 - 100% of all values - 980pF/500m - 95% of all values - 420pF/500m Capacity unbalances at 800Hz - K9-K12 - 100% of all values - 800pF/500m - 90% of all values - 200pF/m Test voltage 50Hz, 2 min - wire-wire – 500V - wire-screen - 2000V Reduction factor, at: Inductive voltage from - cable with D above sheath up to 16mm - 0.6 40 to 350 V/km, and frequency 50Hz no more - cables with D above sheath over 16mm to 37mm – 0.5 than: - cables with D above sheath > 37mm – 0.4 Temperature range laying and installing -10°C to +60°C Temperature range exploitation and storage -50°C to +60°C Bending radius, min. approx. 15 x cable diameter
COLOR CODING Number of quad Side-circuit -1 1 - a-wire – white, - b-wire - red 2 - a-wire – yellow, - b-wire - red 3 - a-wire – gray, - b-wire - red 4 - a-wire – brown, - b-wire - red 5 - a-wire – black, - b-wire - red Number of quad Side-circuit -2 1 - a-wire – green, - b-wire - blue 2 - a-wire – green, - b-wire - blue 3 - a-wire – green - b-wire – blue 4 - a-wire – green, - b-wire – blue 5 - a-wire – green, - b-wire – blue Unit marking In each layer there is a unit with red supporting spiral from which the counting starts and a unit showing the direction of counting – with yellow supporting spiral
Question 14: With reference to the Annex III pages 87 to 91/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I: 1. Please explain what kind of operations or/and equipment prices are to be included in the item “Drawing out OK” as it mentioned within tables Code 1.2.1 to 1.2.10. 2. Please specify if the unit price of the "Drawing out OK" should also include the cost of optical fiber cable and accessories. Answer 14: The following operations and equipment prices shall be included in the item “Drawing out OK”: 1. Supply and installation of fiber optic cable. 2. Supply and installation of splice closures. 3. Supply and installation of ODFs. 4. Pre-installation measurement of fiber optic cable. 5. Measurement of installed fiber optic cable. 6. Machine-shifts of specialized working trains. 7. Cutting down bushes, etc. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 18 Question 15: With reference to Annex III pages 87 to 91/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I: Please explain how the following item prices are to be included in the tables Code 1.2.1 to 1.2.10 the following items prices: 1. Optical fibre lengths 2. Optical fibre installation 3. Optical fibre testing and commissioning Answer 15: Please, see the answer of the Question 14 above.
Question 16: With reference to Annex III page 91/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I: Please explain how the testing and commissioning items prices can be included in table Code 1.2.11 for the following equipment: 1. SDH-STM4 2. MUX 3. Telephone exchanges 4. Fire extinguisher Answer 16: The testing and commissioning items prices of the listed equipment shall be included in the corresponding item “Installation of …” of the table 1.2.11. DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT. Please make the following corrections in the table 1.2.11. DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT: 1. Change the name of item 2.1 from “Delivery STM-4” to “Installation of STM-4”. 2. Change the quantity of the item 2.6 from 1 to 15.
Question 17: With reference to Annex III page 97/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I: Please explain how is to be presented the price structure of the following items in the offer in order to take into account the following requirements or constraints (tables Code 1.5.1; 1.5.2 si 1.5.3): 1. Item 1 – Since the required Electronic Information Systems has not the same configuration for each specified rail stations we have to provide different items/rail prices taking into account table 2 page 190/212 as part of Annex II, Volume II. 2. Item 2 – In order to a right price comparison between offers please provide a number of required pictograms. 3. Item 3 – Because required wheel chairs item is not identical for every specified rail stations hawse have to provide different items/rail prices taking into account table Delivery of wheel-chairs page 193/212 as part of Annex II, Volume II.
Answer 17: With reference to Annex III page 97/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I, please take into account the following: 1. The price should be presented as a total sum for the Electronic Information System in the 4th stations. 2. The number of required pictograms per station is 54 pieces. 3. The price should be presented as a total sum for the required wheel-chairs under table “Delivery of wheel-chairs” on p.193 of the Volume II.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 19 Question 18: With reference to Annex III page 98 and 100/112, part of Invitation to Tender Volume I: Please explain whether it is up to the Bidder to quote the training (lump sum) or there are specific requirements from the customer. Could you please specify the number of trainees
Answer 18: Yes, the price of the training services shall be presented as lump-sum. The number of trainees for parts “Signalling”, “AXLE Counters” and “AUTOMATIC LEVEL-CROSSINGS” will be 10 persons. The number of trainees for parts “Telecommunication” and “DISABLED PASSENGERS” will be 10 persons.
Question 19: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: In order for us to quote the right FO cable , please provide Technical Specification (number and type of fibers, mechanical and optical parameters) regarding the type of optical fiber cable (ADSS, self supporting fig. 8 etc.), number and type of the fibers (G.652/G.655).
Answer 19: The fiber optic cable shall have 24 fibers for Blagoevgrad – Kulata and 12 fibers for General Todorov - Petrich. The “TECHNICAL REQIUREMENTS OF RAILWAY CABLE BLAGOEVGRAD – KULATA” are as follows: I. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS The fiber optic cable will be installed along the railway line, electrified with 25 kV / 50 Hz system. In case of long bridges, the cable may be installed in a protective HDPE pipe. The materials and equipment shall comply with the latest issues of ITU-T, recommendations and standards mentioned in this document, as well as the specific requirements of this document. II. LAYING OF AERIAL CABLE Two types of sets are used for fixing of the fiber optic cable on the poles: a) Tension sets (anchorage), ensuring tight grip of the cable to the pole; the anchorage section (the section between two successive tension points) having about 1.5 km. b) Suspension sets - reels (rollers), ensuring hanging of the cable on the intermediate poles. The tension sets consist of helix-preformed dead end (terminating helix) for cable and the metallic device setting these spirals to the pole. The suspension sets consist of reel, hanged on a metallic bracket fixed to a console. The consoles for the suspension sets are horizontal, situated on the pole opposite of the power line, or vertical, situated above the top of the pole. The attachment of the reel to console is made semi-rigidly, the reel being able to turn round about 90° in two planes. The maximum nominal distance between two tension / suspension points of optical cable (the span between two successive poles) shall be 66 m. The over-crossing (aerial cross-over) of railroad is performed by vertical consoles on the adjacent to the over- crossing poles. The cable must withstand to all external stresses at which can be exposed both at installation and in operation in the worst climatic conditions. The cable length in the drum shall be at least 3 km. The Maifacturer must state the temperature coefficient of elongation of the fiber optic cable III. JOINTING AND TERMINATING OF THE CABLE 1. The jointing boxes (connecting sleeves) will be used both for direct jointing and for branching-out (derivation). These boxes shall be installed on the overhead traction poles.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 20 2. Two spare lenghts of the cable shall be installed on the pole at each jointing boxes (at both sides of the box). 3. Each anchoring section shall have at least one spare lenght of cable. 4. The spare lenght of the cable shall have 120 m, shaped as figure “8”. 5. The fibers of the cable shall be spliced in the jointing boxes thermally (fusion splicing). 6. The fiber optic cables shall end in the buildings at special terminating and distributing devices placed in the telecommunication equipment rooms. 7. The endings in the buildings shall be equipped with a spare lenght of the cable
IV. SPECIFICATION FOR THE OPTICAL FIBERS 1. The single-mode optical fibbers shall be single mode. 2. The optical parameters of single-mode optical fiber shall comply with the ITU-T Rec. G.652.B and the requirements of this document. 2.1. The fiber attenuation at 1310 nm - ≤ 0,40 dB/km. 2.2. The fiber attenuation at 1550 nm – ≤ 0,35 dB/km. 2.3. The fiber attenuation at 1625 nm – 0,40 dB/km. 2.4. Non-uniformity of attenuation at any designed wavelength (discontinuity point) – ≤ 0,1 dB. 2.5. Cut-off wavelength cabled ≤1260 nm. 2.6. The zero-dispersion wavelength shall be between 1300 nm and 1324 nm. 2.7. The zero-dispersion slope shall be no greater than 0.093 ps/(km mm2). 2.8. PMD cabled – ≤ 0,2 ps/km0,5. 2.9. Microbend loss ≤ 0,5 dB at 1625 nm at 100 turns of fiber loosely wound on a mandrin with a diameter of 75 mm. 3. Structure of the optical fiber 3.1. The single-mode fiber of quartz glass with step refractive index profile will consist of a core and a cladding material. 3.2. The core and the cladding of the fiber shall be of E9/125 type. 3.3. The mode field diameter at 1310 nm shall be within 8,6 – 9,5 µm ± 0.7 µm 3.4. The cladding diameter shall be 125,0 µm ± 1 µm. 3.5. The mode field concentricity error - ≤ 0,8 μm. 3.6. The cladding non-circularity - ≤2,0 %. 3.7. Proof stress ≥0,69 GPa. 3.8. The nominal outer diameter of the primary coating shall be 245 µm ± 10 µm. 3.9. The cladding/coating concentricity error shall be max 15 µm. 3.10. The fiber coating non-circularity shall not exceed 6%. 3.11. The offset between the center of the coating and the the cladding shall not exceed 10,0 µm. 3.12. The colors used for the fiber identification shall be applied in such a manner that they shall have no influence on the optical properties of the fibers. The colorant applied to the optical fiber shall not inhibit the operation of fiber identifiers or LID devices. V. ENVIRONMENT CONDITIONS FOR AERIAL FIBER OPTICAL CABLE
1. The installed fiber optic cable shall operate without disturbances both at the normall and the most severe environmental conditions. 2. The climatic conditions for calculating of the cable sag and tension are defined as follows:
Temperature Radial thickness of glazed Wind speed ice Normal +20 0C - - Extreme 1 +40 0C - - Extreme 2 -30 0C - Extreme 3 +15 0C 30 m/s Extreme 4 -5 0C 15 mm 15 m/s 3. The tension in the cable, calculated for these climatic conditions, shall be as reduced as possible and could
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 21 not in any case to exceed 90 % of maximum static load of the cable. 4. The sag in the same conditions shall not exceed 2.3 m. 5. The fiber optic cable shall be metal-free, self-supported. 6. The fiber optic cable shall have such components that can withstand, in any climatic conditions, the influence of the electromagnetic field of the power feeding line, situated on the same poles 7. The cable sheath must be stabilized against ultraviolet rays exposure. 8. The operating temperature of the aerial cable must be between -40 and +65 °C. 9. The installing temperature range of the cable shall be at least between -5 and +35 °C. 10. The cable construction shall provide the attenuation of the mechanical oscillations of the cable installed on poles. 11. The planned operating lifetime of the aerial cable must be of minimum 30 years. VI. FIBER OPTIC CABLE STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS 1. GENERAL 1.1. In view to increase the lifetime of cable, the materials used in optical fiber cable must not evolve hydrogen in quantities that will affect the fiber loss nor support galvanic action to produce hydrogen to levels that will affect the fiber’s loss. 1.2. The tensile-load carrying member(s) of the cable may be located at the longitudinal neutral axis of the cable, over the cable core, in the cable jacket, or any combination of the above. However, the central member, if present, should not be the primary tensile-load-carrying member of the cable. 1.3. The main strength element must have a direct connection with the outer sheath of cable in order to take over any tension acting on the cable. 2. CABLE DESIGN 2.1. Different cable designs, such as fiber bundle or loose tube, that serve to protect optical fibers from the environment and during placing and handling, are admitted. 2.2. In any case the structure of the aerial cable shall provide the decoupling of optical fibers from any external tensile stress (within the range of operational conditions defined before). 2.3. If the loose buffer technique is used for the cable core, the loose tubes shall have an S-Z type stranding. 3. OUTER POLYETHYLENE SHEATH 3.1. The outer polyethylene sheath must have the following properties: a) Good tensile strength and tear resistance; b) Keep up the electrical properties practically unchanged even after immersion in water for a long period; c) Good aging resistance ensured by adding to sheath material an appropriate amount of antioxidants; d) Resistance at practically all chemical substances and solvents; e) Sheath material must not affect in any way the other cable components. 3.2. The outer PE sheath shall have at least a thickness of 1,6 mm. 4. FILLING COMPOUND 4.1. The interstices in the cable’s buffer/core tube(s) shall be filled with a filling compound having water-blocking proprieties. 4.2. Filling compound material: a) The filling compound material shall be nonnutritive to fungus, no hygroscopic, electrically nonconductive, homogeneous, transparent and free from dirt and foreign matter. b) The filling material shall not adversely affect the ability to handle the cable, and shall be readily removable with conventional environment-friendly cleaning agents. 5. THE CABLE MATERIALS AND ALL MATERIALS FOR USE IN SPLICING, PLACING, AND MAINTENANCE SHALL BE NONTOXIC AND DERMATOLOGICAL SAFE. 6. IDENTIFICATION AND MARKING 6.1. To identify individual fibers, these shall be color-coded. 6.2. The entire delivered amount of the cable must have black color outer sheath. 6.3. The outer sheath of cable will be marked at every meter with: a) Running meter indication; b) Type of cable and number of fibers (cable code);
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 22 c) Name of the Manufacturer and month/year of manufacture; d) Proprietary name: e) Warning words: ATTENTION – LASER RADIATION. 6.4. The marking system used must be clear, visible and durable. 6.5. The precision of the running meter shall be better than ± 20 cm / 100 m. 7. THE CABLE SHALL WITHSTAND TENSILE STATIC LOAD NOT LESS THAN 5800 N. VII. FIBER OPTIC CABLE MECHANICAL PARAMETERS VIIa. REQUIREMENTS AND TESTING CONDITIONS 1. TENSILE STRENGTH 1.1. The tensile performance test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-E1. 1.2. The test conditions must be as follows: a) length of cable - not less than 50 m; b) Diameter of test pulleys - 1 m; c) Max tensile load – 5800 N 2. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (crush) 2.1. The cable shall withstand to a minimum sideways pressure of 3000 N / 10 cm, applied uniformly over the length of the compression plates. 2.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-E3. 2.3. The test conditions must be as follows: a) Duration of load - 15 minutes b) Number of positions 3 different places spaced at least 500 mm apart. 3. IMPACT RESISTANCE
1.1. The cable shall be able to support strong impacts that must be tested under the following conditions: a) Anvil diameter - 50 mm b) Impact energy - 5 J with anvil surface radius of 10 mm c) Number of impacts - three series of 3 impacts, (each succession of impacts being made in 3 different places spaced at least 500 mm apart). 1.2. The test should be performed in the conditions described in IEC 60794-1-2-E4. 4. CABLE TWIST 4.1. The cable shall be capable of withstanding the following mechanical torsion test: a) Number of turns - one turn of 360 ° in each direction; b) Test length - 1000 mm; c) Load - 100 N; d) Number of cycles - 5. 4.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-E7. 5. CABLE BEND 5.1. The cable shall be able to support the following winding test: a) Diameter of mandrel - 15 times the outer diameter of cable; b) Number of turns/helix – 5; c) Number of cycles – 3; d) Temperature - 20 °C. 5.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60974-1-2-E11A. 6. BENDING RADIUS UNDER TENSION 6.1. The cable shall be able to support a winding test under dynamic conditions: a) Diameter of mandrel - 20 times the outer diameter of cable; b) Number of cycles – 5; c) Tensile force - 200 N; d) Temperature - 20 °C. 6.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-E18, procedure 1. 7. REPEATED BENDING 7.1. The cable shall be capable of withstanding to a number of minimum 300 bends (30 cycles/minute) with a radius of 15 times the cable diameter having a tail load of 100 N.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 23 a) Diameter of mandrel - 15 times the outer diameter of cable; b) Number of bendings – 5; c) Number of cycles – 3; d) Temperature - 20 °C. 7.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-E6. 8. TEMPERATURE CYCLING 8.1. The test conditions shall be as follows: a) Sample length - 1000 m
b) Temperature range:
c) Rate of heating and cooling - sufficiently slow that the effect of changing the temperature does not cause temperature shock; d) T1 (dwell time) - 6 hours e) Number of cycles - 2. 8.2. The test should be performed as described in IEC 60794-1-2-F1. 9. WATER PENETRATION 9.1. The cable shall be tested in the conditions when a one-meter static head or equivalent continuous pressure is applied at one end of a one-meter length of unaged cable for seven days, respective on an aged cable sample for three days. 9.2. The tests shall be made according to IEC 60794-1-2-F5B 10. DRIP 10.1. The compound drip test shall be according to IEC 60794-1-2-E14.
VIIb. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
The supplied cable will be accepted only if the following criteria are entirely accomplished: 1. TENSILE STRENGTH 1.1. Under static load shall not be any change in the attenuation. 1.2. Under visual examination, there shall not be damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. 1.3. The elongation of the cable under maximal load shall not exceed 0,3%. 2. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (crush) 2.1. Under visual examination there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. The imprint of the anvil on the sheath is not considered mechanical damage. 2.2. During compression the change of attenuation (fully reversible) shall not exceed 0.10 dB, measured in 1550 nm region. 3. IMPACT RESISTANCE 3.1. Under visual examination there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. The imprint of the anvil on the sheath is not considered mechanical damage. 3.2. After test there shall be no increase in attenuation, measured in 1550 nm region. 4. CABLE TWIST 4.1. Under visual examination, there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. 4.2. The variation of attenuation (fully reversible attenuation increase) for each fiber shall be less than or equal to 0.10 dB at 1550 nm. 4.3. There shall be no permanent change in attenuation after the test. 5. CABLE BEND 5.1. Under visual examination, there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. 5.2. The variation of attenuation (fully reversible attenuation increase) for each fiber shall be less than or equal to 0.10 dB at 1550 nm. 6. BENDING RADIUS UNDER TENSION 6.1. Under visual examination, there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. 6.2. After test there shall be no increase in attenuation, measured in the 1550 nm region.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 24 7. REPEATED BENDING 7.1. Under visual examination there shall be not damage to the sheath or to the cable elements. 7.2. After test there shall be no increase in attenuation, measured in the 1550 nm region. 8. TEMPERATURE CYCLING 8.1. For TA1 to TB1, the change in attenuation coefficient shall be less than or equal to 0.05 dB/km, measured in the 1550 nm region, and shall be reversible. 8.2. For TA1 to TA2 and TB1 to TB2, the change in attenuation coefficient shall be less than or equal to 0.10 dB/km and shall be reversible to less than or equal 0.05 dB when measured in the 1550 nm region. 9. WATER PENETRATION 9.1. After test any dye shall not be detected when the end of the cable length is examined with ultraviolet light. 10. DRIP 10.1. The filling and water-blocking material shall not flow at 65 ± 2 °C from the fiber optic cable. 11. PACKAGING 11.1. The cables will be delivered on drums. 11.2. The size of the drums will be chosen to allow the use of normal laying equipment. 11.3. The core diameter of the drums shall be more than the double of minimum bending radius of cable. 11.4. The inner end of the cable shall be accessible and the running meter values shall be easily readable. 11.5. The cable ends shall be accessible for testing and securely fastened to the drum to prevent the cable from becoming loose in transit or during placing operations. 11.6. Cable caps shall be securely fastened to both ends of the cable to prevent the escape of filling compound and the entry of moisture during shipping, handling, and storage. 11.7. Cable protection shall include, as a minimum, a covering placed between the cable reel flanges and over the exposed outer layer of cable. 11.8. The covering shall be water-resistant and shall limit solar heating of cable such that cable surface temperature does not exceed 10°C above ambient temperatures under maximum solar radiation. 11.9. Each cable drum shall be plainly and permanently marked to indicate the direction in which it should be rolled to prevent loosening of the cable on the reel. 11.10. Each drum shall be delivered with a weatherproof label or a legible cable data sheet packaged in a waterproof wrapping, on which can be seen clearly: Customer or factory order number; Factory name and year of fabrication; Cable type (cable code); Length of cable with beginning and ending length markings; Weight of cable; Attenuation at wavelengths specified by the customer; Identification codes of measuring certificates. 12. MEASURING CERTIFICATES 12.1. At delivery each cable drum shall be accompanied by measuring certificates approved by the Purchaser’s representative. 12.2. The measuring certificates must contain the following parameters for each cable length: a) Cable type and identification number; b) 1-way reflectometer picture of each fiber at 1310 nm and 1550 nm; c) The length of the delivered cable (meter marking); d) Fiber length; e) Maximum and mean value of attenuation at 1310 nm and 1550 nm; f) The Manufacturer’s trademark. 12.3. The parameters placed in certificates must be measured at a temperature of +20°C. 13. DELIVERY ACCEPTANCE TESTS 13.1. The acceptance tests should be performed by checking, on 5 % of cable drums, both usual quality tests and specific tests that should demonstrate the good interconnection and interworking of all components specified.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 25 VIII. ACCESSORIES FOR AERIAL FIBER OPTIC CABLE 1. GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS 1.1. There are considered installing accessories the suspension set, the tension set and the vibration dampers (when they are necessary). 1.2. The installing accessories shall be designed so that do not produce any damage of the cable during operation on entire lifetime. 1.3. The reliability of installing accessories shall not harm the cable during the entire lifetime. 1.4. The mechanical requirement of these accessories shall correspond to the requirements of optical cable and to the field conditions of the aerial operation. 1.5. The climatic conditions shall be the same as for the aerial fiber optic cable. 2. NON-RIGID SUSPENSION SET 2.1. The non-rigid suspension set is dedicated for hanging the fiber optic cable on poles. 2.2. The suspension set shall allow: secure supporting of the aerial cable; longitudinal cable movements without its damage; Easy cable setting and maintaining operations. 2.3. The suspension set shall consist of a reel (pulley) with its proper suspension device. 2.4. The suspension device of the reel must permit the direct introduction of the cable on the reel. 2.5. The profile and material of the reel must be chosen to achieve a good interworking with the cable and must not allow in any conditions (excepting ice) the blocking of the reel. 2.6. The inner diameter of the reel shall be non-less than 90 mm. 2.7. The dielectric strength of the plastic reel shall be as to provide a good insulation between cable and the metallic items of suspension to avoid electrostatic discharges. 3. TENSION SET 3.1. The tension set is dedicated to anchorage of the aerial cable on the end poles of the ancorage section. 3.2. The tension set shall allow: good fixing of the cable; uniform distribution of compression strength; keeping the applied efforts on cable in admitted limits; Reducing of torsion effects. 3.3. The tension set will include: heliformed dead end (terminating spiral); his thimble clevis and other devices for fastening to the pole; 3.4. The terminating spirals shall be accurately matched to the aerial cable diameter. 3.5. The material and the construction of the tension set items shall ensure a good cable positioning and thorough reliability in operation. 3.6. The terminating spiral shall allow the assembly and dismantling on/from cable at least three times without alteration of properties. 3.7. The terminating spiral shall keep unaltered the mechanical properties during the cable lifetime. 4. JOINTING BOX FOR AERIAL CABLE 4.1. The jointing box (connecting sleeve) shall be especially designed to operate in plain air. 4.2. As a rule the jointing boxes will be installed on the concrete poles of the traction line. 4.3. The jointing box must withstand the impact of the climatic factors and it must operate faultlessly even in the most severe conditions. 4.4. The operating temperature range must be between -40 and +65 °C and the relative humidity of 90 % (without condensing). 4.5. The jointing boxes will be used both for jointing and for branch-out (derivation). 4.6. The jointing boxes must thus sized so that to permit the entrance and the jointing of three cables. 4.7. The jointing box must include: A reinforced tight housing; Three proofed entries for cables with shrinking sleeves (at heat or cold); The necessary number of splicing cassettes. 4.8. The construction of the jointing box must ensure a good mechanical protection. Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 26 4.9. The housing and another component of the jointing box must be non-metallic. 4.10. The fully equipped jointing box shall support without damages the following tests: a) Static load test. The housing must support during 15 minutes a static load of 1000 N on a 5 cm2 contact area in the center. b) Impact test. The housing shall be tested at the impact with 1 kg steel ball falling down from a height of 2 m. 4.11. In case when the jointing box do not present the required mechanical resistance, it is accepted also the solution to increase the protection degree by introducing it into a more resistant second housing. 4.12. This supplementary outside housing can be metallic or non-metallic one. 4.13. In case of supplementary metallic housing, this must be provided with a special earthing clamp for a conductor with 10 mm diameter. 4.14. The jointing box shall be equipped with a simply and resistant setting system for pole and wall mounting. 4.15. The three cable entrances shall be placed on the lower plate of the jointing box. 4.16. The jointing box shall be designed for easy and non-destructive reentry of cables. 4.17. The splicing of the optical fibers shall be made by fusion. 4.18. The jointing box shall include a fiber management system. 4.19. The fiber management system shall have separate trays for each fiber (individual splicing cassettes with fiber routing and loops) in order to avoid the perturbation of fibers during maintenance works. 4.20. The insertion loss of each splice of the fiber must not exceed 0.1 dB. 5. TERMINATING AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM 5.1. The terminating and distributing system provides the connection and the distribution of optical fibers from cables into the telecommunication rooms of the railway stations. 5.2. The terminating and distributing system shall perform the following functions: . Fiber optic cable setting; . Storage of optical fiber spare length; . Protection of optical fiber splices; . Connection of cable endings; . Distribution of optical fibers. 5.3. The terminating and distributing system shall be designed for indoor use in 19” racks. 5.4. The terminating and distributing system must be protected against dust. 5.5. The operating temperature range shall be between -5 and +45 °C and the relative humidity of 80 % (without condensing). 5.6. The terminating and distributing system will consist of two main parts: a) Terminating element - in which the optical fibers should be terminated in cassettes for splicing of cable fibers with the connectorized fibers (pigtail). The terminating system must be designed so that to offer easy access to all inside elements for fiber splicing and for maintenance. b) Distributing element - through which will be provided the connection of distribution cables. This element will include the optical couplings that will provide the interconnection between the connectors of interconnection fibers (pigtail) from the terminating element with the connectors of distribution cables (patch cords) to equipment. It shall be performed as a coupling module or panel. 5.7. The optical connectors shall be of FC / PC or FC/APC type. 5.8. The insertion loss of the optical connectors must not exceed 0.2 dB. 5.9. The increase of insertion loss of the connectors must be lower than 0.1 dB after 500 connections and disconnections.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 27 Note 1. According to the “TECHNICAL REQIUREMENTS OF RAILWAY CABLE BLAGOEVGRAD – KULATA”, Chapter II. LAYING OF AERIAL CABLE, point 1, the tension sets (anchorage) shall have a distance of about 1.5 km between them. The Contractor shall make the corresponding amendments in the design. Note 2. According to the “TECHNICAL REQIUREMENTS OF RAILWAY CABLE BLAGOEVGRAD – KULATA”, Chapter II. LAYING OF AERIAL CABLE, point 9, the minimum factory cable length (the length in the the cable drum) shall be 3 km. The Contractor shall make the corresponding amendments in the design.
Question 20: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: Please, specify the minimum number of fibers, which have to be terminated in every station.
Answer 20: The minimum number of fibers terminated at the intermediate stations is the half of the cable capacity.
Question 21: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: Please provide Technical Specification regarding the junctions in the optical fiber: the distance between two subsequent junctions, how should be protected the junctions, if they shall be buried of mounted on the poles, the amount and type of ODF and optical connectors. Answer 21: Please see the technical specification in the answer to Question 19. The fiber optic cable shall have terminations (ODF) in all the railway stations between Blagoevgrad – Kulata, plus the point 133+160, Power substation Simitli, Stara Kresna halt and Power substation General Todorov. For the terminations of the cable in the point 133+160, Power substation Simitli and Stara Kresna halt, the Contractor shall make the corresponding amendments in the design. For the connection to the Power substation General Todorov, the Contractor shall use the existing fiber optic cable between the railway station General Todorov and the Power substation General Todorov.
Question 22: With reference to the "LEGEND" (page 1/26) of "Assembly Table" (page 128/212): Please provide us more details regarding the required installation method of the optical fiber cable, fixing accessories (intermediate/vertical cantilever, anchoring etc.)
Answer 22: Please see the technical specification in the answer to Question 19.
Question 23: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" (page 141/212): Please explain who is in charge to assure the requirements listed in the section: “Requirements to the building, where the devices shall be placed”.
Answer 23: The NRIC is in charge to assure the requirements, listed in this section.
Question 24: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" (page 141/212): Please explain who is in charge to assure the requirements listed in the section “Requirements for reducing the external electromagnetic impact”.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 28 Answer 24: The Beneficiary - NRIC is in charge to assure the requirements, listed in this section.
Question 25: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" and listed bill of quantities on page 159 of 212: If we assume, that the transmission equipment optical ADMs and FMCs will be located in stations Blagoevgrad, Simitli, Tchernicene, P.Yavorov, Kresna, Strumiani, Sandanski, Damianitza, G.Todorov, Kulata and Petrich, please specify where shall be located the rest 4 optical ADMs and FMCs.
Answer 25: The location of the equipment is shown in answer to question 10 in this part.
Question 26: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment", part 1.4 Arrangement of the link: Please, specify the connectivity between sites Sofia, Dupnitza and Blagoevgrad.
Answer 26: Existing connectivity – through analogue channels of FDM systems. Future connectivity – through optic fibers and SDH systems.
Question 27: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment": For SDH transmission equipment please specify the necessary amounts of E1 and Fast Ethernet interfaces per node.
Answer 27: The minimum amount of interfaces per node is shown in Volume II, item 1.4 (page 152- 153/212). The real amount of the interfaces will be determined by the Contractor’s design.
Question 28: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment": Please confirm that for the SDH transmission equipment the 1+1 EPS protection is to be provided for the common functional units (cross-connect matrix, power supply, CRU).
Answer 28: The protection of the SDH transmission equipment is specified in Volume II, item 1.1.1 (page 142-143/212).
Question 29: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment": Please confirm that the Customer will provide the necessary DC power supply systems for all the telecommunication equipment.
Answer 29: The DC power supply systems shall be provided by the Contractor. The Customer provides 220 V (+20%, -30%) 50 Hz single phase for feeding of the DC power supply systems.
Question 30: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment": With reference to the par. 1.1.4 Synchronisation (page 143 of 212): please specify if the synchronisation equipment shall be provided by the Contractor. If the answer is affirmative, please give us more details regarding the type of the PRC: number and types of inputs/outputs, if redundancy for oscillator or other units is requested etc. Please also specify where in the Annex III: Budget Breakdown - Model financial offer/ par. 1.2 Part "Telecommunications" shall we include the price of the synchronisation equipment.
Answer 30: The synchronisation equipment shall be provided by the Contractor. The synchronisation equipment is specified in Volume II, item 1.1.4 (page 143/212). The price of the synchronisation
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 29 equipment must be included in the Annex III: Budget Breakdown - Model financial offer/ par. 1.2 Part "Telecommunications".
Question 31: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" (page 153/212), point 1.4 Arrangement of the links: Please provide the technical characteristics for existing telephone exchanges in Sofia/DZITI/ and Dupnitsa/CAPSH.
Answer 31: the technical type of the existing telephone exchanges in Sofia/DZITI/ and Dupnitsa/CAPSH/ are as follows: Location of PABX Producer Producer’s Country Type
Sofia DZITI Serbia and Montenegro OMNI 230
Dupnitsa KAPSCH Austria MERIDIAN 1
Question 32: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" (page 159/212), point 1.4 Delivery of ad. Extension of existing T.E. – 6 units: In order for us to quote the required extensions, please provide the needed technical characteristics needed for each extension equipment of all six required.
Answer 32: The technical type of the equipment is shown in Answer 12.
Question 33: With reference to chapter 1.5.1 "Electronic Information System for visual and sound information of passengers of passenger of the stations Blagoevgrad, Kulata, Sandansky" (page 187/212). Please explain if the Electronic Information System is envisaged to work as standalone equipment for each station, without any network connection between all of four provided systems provided for above mentioned stations. Answer 33: With reference to chapter 1.5.1 "Electronic Information System for visual and sound information of passengers of passenger of the stations Blagoevgrad, Kulata, Sandansky" (page 187/212), please take into account, that the electronic information system is envisaged to work as standalone equipment for each station.
Question 34: With reference to chapter 1.5.1 "Electronic Information System for visual and sound information of passengers of passenger of the stations Blagoevgrad, Kulata, Sandansky" (page 187/212). Since requirement regarding “Indicator of humidity” is missing within table 2 page 190/212 please confirm that this function have to be provided with electronic information system equipments. Answer 34: With reference to chapter 1.5.1 "Electronic Information System for visual and sound information of passengers of passenger of the stations Blagoevgrad, Kulata, Sandansky" and regarding to the “Indicator of humidity” please take into account that this function should be provided with electronic information system equipments.
Question 35: In the “Explicative memorandum” (1.1. Part ''Signaling'') there are quoted “TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR DESIGN”. Could you please provide us this document in electronic form?
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 30 Answer 35: In the "Explicative memorandum" (1.1. Part ''Signaling'') where are quoted "TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR DESIGN" means the terms of reference on which base the Technical specifications were done by the separate organization on behalf of NRIC.
Question 36: According to the tender documents, ANNEX III – Budget breakdown, article 1.2.11 DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT, the Supplier has to provide an extension for existing telephone exchanges (item 1.4.). Could you please clarify, what is the manufacturer of all the existing exchanges and what is the type of the needed extension (subscribers – digital, analog; trunk lines – analog, ISDN, PCM; quantities, etc..) Answer 36: The equipment to be supplied for the existing telephone switches is confined in the interface and auxiliary cards, required for matching the trunk lines to the new digital swithes in Blagoevgrad and Kulata. Please see the answer to question 31 and the answer to question 12.
Question 37: Please, inform on the constraints related with the execution of works on the railway line, namely time constraints (number of working hours per day) for the installation works that may impact on the train circulation (signalling, fibre installation, etc.). Answer 37: The process of giving the train and electric “window” for implementation of works and assemblage activities, which disturb the normal train operation, is going under special procedures of asking, approval and authorization between the contractor and the NRIC. The “windows” are subject of contract between the contractor and the NRIC, which includes: approved technology on number and timing of the needed windows, deadlines, sanctions for over timing and other specific conditions, under the legislation framework of the NRIC.
Question 38: Does the contract includes the supply of the fibre optic, or only the installation? If the supply is included, what are the fibre optic cable main characteristics (type, number of fibres, etc.)? If supplied, what is the quantity of fibre to consider (meters)?
Answer 38: The contract shall include the supply of fiber optic cable. Please see the answers to questions 14 and 19. The quantity of the fiber optic cable is specified in Volume II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, 1.2. PART “TELECOMMUNICATIONS”, page 95/212, table “LENGTH OF SECTIONS WITH OPTICAL CABLE”. The same data is repeated through codes 1.2.1 – 1.2.10, in the tables “INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING AND ASSEMBLAGE WORKS”, in the row named “Drawing out ОК”.
Question 39: Where is the fibre optic cable to be spliced / terminated? On the terminal stations referred in the Table of page 95/212 “Length of sections with optical cable”? On these stations the cable is to be fully terminated in optical distribution frames? Answer 39: Please, see the answers to questions 20 and 21.
Question 40: It is stated that 15 SDH nodes will be supplied, but for which stations? The “Premises of telecommunication (point)” considered in the table of “Appendix 3 to code 1.2.11”? On this table only 12 stations are considered, so the SDH nodes should be reduced to 12? Answer 40: Please, see the answer to question 10.
Question 41: On paragraph 2 of Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.1 General” it is referred that “The project aim is to construct an optical transmission system Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 31 between Dupnitsa Railway Station and Petrich Railway Station (…)”. We assume that the fibre optic already exists between Dupnitsa Railway Station and Blagoevgrad Railway Station – is this assumption correct? If yes, can we also assume that the fibre is dully terminated and tested in Dupnitsa? Answer 41: The text of the sentence on paragraph 2 of Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.1 General” must be changed to “The project aim is to construct an optical transmission system between Blagoevgrad Railway Station and Petrich Railway Station (…)”.
Question 42: We assume that all the buildings/rooms where the active equipments will be placed have and/or assure the characteristics mentioned in Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.1 General”, namely: - Requirements to the building - Requirements for reducing the external electromagnetic impact - Temperature requirements (+5 to +40 ºC) - Moisture requirements (20 to 80% non condensating) Answer 42: The NRIC is in charge to assure the requirements, listed in this section
Question 43: Are the “Emergency power supply” equipments with 6 hours autonomy already existing in the stations, or to be supplied under this contract? If to be supplied, what should be considered as load requirements? Only the active equipment to be supplied under this contract, or other existing equipment?
Answer 43: The “Emergency power supply” equipments with 6 hours autonomy shall be supplied under this contract. Only the active equipment under this contract shall be electrically supplied.
Question 44: What are the technical characteristics of the existing “Train Dispatcher Link”, the “Energy Dispatcher Link” and the “Inter-Station Link”, described in Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.4.2. Operative and Dispatcher Links”, namely: - Brand and model - Type of connection to the network - Interfaces available for connection to the new digital transmission system
Answer 44: The dispatcher equipment of the train dispatcher link is of type “РСДТ”, made in Russia. The station equipment of the train dispatcher link is of type “ППС-Д” or other equivalent type, all made in Russia. The dispatcher unit and the station units are connected in a closed network not connected to any of the other networks. Each station unit shall be connected to the new digital systems via 4-wire analogue speech channel (E&M interface) of the conference bridge of the station multiplexer. See also Volume II, item 1.4.2.1. TRAIN DISPATCHER LINK on pages 154-155/212. The dispatcher equipment and the station equipment of the energy dispatcher link is of type SMART el 99R, made of company LEVELTEC, Finland. The dispatcher unit and the station units are connected in a closed network, not connected to any of the other networks. Each station unit shall be connected to the new digital systems via 4-wire analogue speech channel (E&M interface) of the conference bridge of the station multiplexer. See also Volume II, item 1.4.2.2. ENERGY DISPATCHER LINK on page 156/212. The “Inter-Station Link” is a direct connection between the station masters of the adjacent railway stations. Each couple of adjacent railway stations has its own “Inter-Station Link”, operating as a closed network, not connected to any other network or subscriber. The “Inter-Station Link” shall operate via the LB (local battery) interface of the station multiplexor as stated in Volume II, items 1.2.2
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 32 and 1.2.3 (pages 146-148/212. The sets connected to the “Inter-Station Link” are LB telephones with magneto or LB ports of the station concentrators.
Question 45: What is required when it is stated “The software version should be (…) adapted for Bulgaria (…)”? Should the software be supplied in Bulgarian?
Answer 45: The adaptation of the software for Bulgaria is considered as using of the accepted in Bulgaria settings as time/date format, metric system, currency, page format, supporting of Cyrillic fonts and encoding, etc.
Question 46: What exact interface circuits boards should be supplied for the existing telephone exchanges of Sofia/DZITI and Dupnitsa/CAPSH? Are these circuits boards what is required as “Delivery of additional extension of existing telephone exchange” with quantity of 6 in the Budget Breakdown? Answer 46: Please, see the answer to question 12. These circuits boards is the required as “Delivery of additional extension of existing telephone exchange” with quantity of 6 in Volume I, ANNEX III : Budget Breakdown – Model financial offer, item 1.2.11, point 2.4.
Question 47: What is the “available WAN media” referred in Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.5. Distance Control”? Is there any data connection between one of the stations to be equipped with SDH and the building of Sofia Electricity Section?
Answer 47: “Available WAN media” means existing data transmission network, operating on standard telephone channels using X.25 with IP encapsulation, with speed up to 20 000 bit/s. Nodes of the data transmission network are located in Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Kulata.
Question 48: It is our understanding that the SDH and the FCM (Flexible Multiplexors) should be managed and controlled by the same software / management system, located in the building of Sofia Electricity Section. Is our understanding correct? Answer 48: The SDH and the FCM (Flexible Multiplexors) can be managed and controlled by the same software / management system. This system shall be located in the building of “PSTE – Sofia” – former Electricity Section, as stated in Volume II, item 1.5 DISTANCE CONTROL on page 157/212.
Question 49: In Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.2.1. Integrated FCM decision for Voice and Data” it is referred that the FCM should have, among others, ISDN and 10BT Ethernet interfaces. However, in Chapter “1.2.12. Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment” point “1.4. Arrangement of the Links” those interfaces are not required. Should the proposed FCM’s be equipped with these interfaces (if yes, how many), or should only be mandatory to be prepared to that in a future situation? Answer 49: The FCM equipment shall have the possibility to operate with ISDN and 10BT Ethernet interfaces. This possibility shall be used if the FCM is expanded in future, or if the Contractor proposes this in his technical solution.
Question 50: In Chapter “1.5.1. Еlectronic Information System for Visual and Sound Information of Passengers of the Stations Blagoevgrad, Кulata, Sandanski and Petrich” it is referred that “(…) the system includes visual and sound messages (…)”, but the sound messages definition is not made on
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 33 the rest of the document. Should the sound information be supplied in the referred stations? If yes, with which characteristics (number of amplifiers/zones, loudspeakers, recorded/live messages, etc.)? Answer 50: With reference to Chapter “1.5.1. Еlectronic Information System for Visual and Sound Information of Passengers of the Stations Blagoevgrad, Кulata, Sandanski and Petrich” it is referred that “(…) the system includes visual and sound messages (…)”, regarding to the sound messages, please be informed that there is a misprint and the sound information should not be supplied.
Question 51: The working station described in Chapter “1.5.1. Еlectronic Information System for Visual and Sound Information of Passengers of the Stations Blagoevgrad, Кulata, Sandanski and Petrich” point “II.2. Working place (working station)” should be installed in each station? If yes, should there be any connection between the different working stations in the 4 stations? Is it accepted a solution with a central working station, connected to the central Signalling console, to automatically generate the visual messages to all the displays?
Answer 51: Please, see the answer to question 33.
Question 52: Description of Railway station Petrich describes "2 tracks with automatic block signaling". Except the single track to "General Todorov" we can't find a second automatic block? Right now we assume one block! Answer 52: The line between stations Petrich and General Todorov as a single track line. Sorry about the misprint.
Question 53: Is it O.K that the Service & Diagnosis Unit displays and print Latin characters.
Answer 53: The information provided to the station foreman must be displayed in Bulgarian language with Cyrillic characters. The information for service and diagnosis shall be displayed and printed in English with Latin characters or in Bulgarian language with Cyrillic characters.
Question 54: Is it required to divide these blocks into more than one section? Distances between the concerned stations are between 7 and 12 km's in maximum. Answer 54: It’s not necessary. The line between two stations consists of one block section.
Question 55: As we provide Autoblocks for the train route from Kulata to Promahonas and from Damjanitsa to Sandanski, we need information who integrates these autoblocks in the interlockings and which requirements does the interface have? Answer 55: On condition that the equipment of auto-block system provides relay interface, the connection with the interlocking of station Sandanski will be carried out by our specialists. As regards to station Promahonas the connection to the station’s interlocking will be done by our specialists, too, after consultations with Greek railways.
Question 56: If we have to integrate these Autoblocks in the existing interlockings of Promahonas and Sandanski so please inform us with the relevant drawings howe the integration is planned. What type of interlocking is there? Answer 56: See the answer of the previous question 55.
Question 57: If we need to build adaptors to interlockings: can we declare our interface and try them to adapt their logic? Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 34 Answer 57: Referring the border stations (Sandanski and Promahonas) see the answer of the previous item. As regards to all the rest stations it’s the Contractor’s duty to accomplish the connections.
Question 58: To save effort for that Autoblock 5 controll devices (situated in Sandanski in drawing on page 171 of techn. Spec, Part II) we should propose to place the controll devices in Damjanitsa instead of Sandanski. Otherwise some additional effort would be required for equipment in Sandanski’s interlocking. Question 58: It would be acceptable..
Question 59: In the technical specification I recognized 2 types of switching machines (pointing machines): COA-3 (sheared off turnover) and COA-3H (non-sheared off turnover): are they used for points as well as for wedge blocks? Answer 59: The switching machine COA – 3Н is used both for points and derailers. COA – 3 is used only for points.
Question 60: Are there different kinds of pointing machines (somewhere I red about SOA-3)? Answer 60: COA and SOA are different abbreviations of the same type of switch machine.
Question 61: What is the "Switch lock Colben Danneg"? It seems to be some kind of point locking (switch locking), possibly for manual operations? Are there some 'special issues' to cover from the pointing machine respective the point operation module of the interlocking? Means e.g.: electrical installations, commands from interlocking, messages to the interlocking, something else? Answer 61: “Colben Danneg” is a manually operated point blade’s lock used in Bulgarian railways. It’s not connected to the station interlocking. As it is currently in use only disassembly and repeat assembly of it should be calculated in the quantitative calculations.
Question 62: Please specify pointing machines: COA-3 and COA-3H. (Motor, xx V AC / DC , xx Hz, Throwing force, Retention force, Max. permitted restoring force of point blades, Trailing resistance, Throwing stroke, Throwing time, Rated current, Starting current , Maximum permissible line resistance, aso) Answer 62: Hereunder you will find the points machines’ technical parameters: point machine with internal locking; three-phase motor, 3x380 V, 50 Hz; rated power – 400 W; throwing time - 3 5 sec.; throwing force - 3500 ÷ 4000 N; retaining force – minimum 980 N greater than the throwing force; starting current – 6 A; minimum insulating resistance – 50 M
Question 63: Which certificates do the pointmachine COA-3 and COA-3H have? Answer 63: The apparatus is produced on the grounds of a certificate issued by the former company BDZ (Bulgarian State Railways)
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 35 Question 64: Is it allowed to use pointmachines from other providers? Answer 64: We agree if the following requirements are met: the technical parameters of the point machines proposed correspond or are better than the parameters of COA-3 and COA-3H, they have certificate for approval by independent assessor, certificate for quality etc. Preliminary co-ordination with NRIC is necessary.
Question 65: What is the maximum voltage and maximum power for the signal lamps. Answer 65: For the lamps with rated power 20 W, used in Bulgarian railways, current 0.5 A ensures the best visibility of the signal aspect. To satisfy this operational mode of the lamps the loss in the cables shall be taken into consideration.
Question 66: Is it allowed to use other lamps as the lamp type with 40V/20W was mentioned in the parts list? Answer 66: Double filament lamps of the type 40 V/20 W/20 W are used in Bulgarian railways
Question 67: Do the lamps have alternative filaments (“Ersatzfadenlampe”)?
Answer 67: At present the interlocking systems control the two filaments of the lamp of the red signal aspect only of the entry signals. We have no objections if the interlockings proposed control the auxiliary filament of the lamps of all the other aspects, too.
Question 68: What's behind the 'bidding signal'? As far as I understood, it is used as some kind of replacement signal if the entry or exit signal could not be used for signalling? What are the dependencies behind the bidding signal? In the specification they wrote 'the bidding signal should not be in subjection of the safety-related devices and should be switched on only with no possibility of automatic turnover of the switches'. What is the meaning of 'should not be in subjection of the safety-related devices'? On the other hand it need to be subjected to the blocked turnover of pointing machines, isn't it? Answer 68: It might be clearer to use the term “calling-on” signal instead of “bidding”. Anyway it is a matter of terminology. You have understood correctly that this signal can be switched on provided that the following conditions are met: the automatic points’ control is switched off (disabled) and, if there is a level crossing in the station area then it is protected or isolated by a relevant controlled command. There are not any other dependencies.
Question 69: Are there any key-release units ('Schlüsselsperren') with some logical dependencies behind it? If yes, what kinds and types of key operated switches are used?
Answer 69: In principal there are. We are ready to accept more modern technical solutions.
Question 70: Are there any other outdoor elements or assumptions we should be aware? Answer 70: The procedure for clarification is described in the tender documents.
Question 71: Volume 1, Annex III: page 59: The numbers in the row amount are not plausible (e.g. Excavation pits for splice closure (0.53m3) with amount 90m3). Please clarify. Answer 71: We are sorry about the misprint. Please, see the answer to question 133.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 36 Question 72: Volume 1, Annex III, page 62: The items stated below ELETRONIC INTERLOCKING EQUIPMENT describe a relay based signaling system. Please clarify. Answer 72: The title is wrong. The correct title is “Relay Interlocking equipment”.
Question 73: Volume 1, Annex III, page 62, page 63: According to the items stated below ELETRONIC INTERLOCKING EQUIPMENT and INSIDE ASSEMBLY WORKS accordingly describe the Bulgarian relay interlocking system ECM (ЕЦ-М). In case the structure of the offered interlocking cannot be mapped to the stated items (e.g. Item 1: Stand СН and ОРВ (ЕЦ-М) with relay and blocks, Item 2: Stand point switches СТ (ЕЦ-М) set with relay and block, …). Is it acceptable to structure this part of the list according to the system offered? Answer 73: Yes
Question 74: Volume 1, Annex III, page 61, 64: SAFE AND HEALTH WORK CONDITIONS are included twice. Please clarify. Answer 74: It is due to a technical mistake. Please, see the answers to question 134, question 139 and question141.
Question 75: Volume 1, Annex III, page 62: It is required to offer signals with “Czech optics”. Please provide a detail description.
Answer 75: The answer is included under point XI Terminology, page 12, Volume II Technical Specifications.
Question 76: Volume 1, Annex III, page 64: It is unclear what is meant with “CCH”. Please specify.
Answer 76: “CCH” means “Circuit for automatic block signaling direction change”.
Question 77: Volume 1, Annex III, page 64: Main and stand-by supply of a station interlocking is listed for testing and putting into operation but not as material/equipment. Please specify where and how the corresponding material/equipment shall be considered.
Answer 77: Main and stand-by power supply equipment is included in Stand TЗ (Stand “Power supply”).
Question 78: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.1, page 4: In the interlockings, the following functional potentialities should be realized via special controlled and registered commands: … Transition under compulsion to the stand-by local control; What is the meaning of “stand-by local control” respectively which elements are there controlled? Where is it situated? Is it part of the delivery or an existing solution?
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 37 Answer 78: For station Kulata which is border station only “local control” mode is foreseen. Please, consider the item “Transition under compulsion to the stand-by local control” on page 10 (Chapter 1.1.1.) as invalid. For all the rest stations such “stand-by local control” mode shall be foreseen for a subsequent stage when centralized dispatching control will be implemented.
Question 79: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.1, page 6: On the station foreman’s screen should be showed indication with specific symbol of the relevant shunting that provides information for: … The regime under which the station foreman requires by manipulation the post signalman to send “adopted shunting” command back;
A) How is the “adopted shunting” command sent back to station foreman? B) Is therefore any additional equipment required? Who can enable or disable that additional device and where is it situated? Please specify the required equipment
Answer 79: Regime “local shunting in a detached shunting area” is not foreseen for stations Gen. Todorov, Damyanitza and Kulata. This regime shall be foreseen only for station Petrich. In illustration of that, please, see the Control Table of station Petrich, column “Routes”, position MM 20.
A) By using a particular button on the local shunting column mounted just next to point № 2 in station Petrich. B) Yes. It is allocated in the premises where the interlocking apparatuses are placed. The local shunting column shall enable the control of switch points № 2, 201/ВИII and 202. Allowing the local shunting shall lead to automatically closing of the level-crossing and it remains under the local shunting column control till the signalman (shunting foreman) returns the shunting to the station foreman
Question 80: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.1, page 15: 1 Arithmetic devices set with axle counters units 55: A) Why are there 55 arithmetic devices for that station required? There are 15 controlled sections? B) In the other stations the amount of arithmetic devices is the sum of controlled sections and counting points. Therefore please describe what the function of such an arithmetic device is.
Answer 80: A) We are sorry about the misprint. The arithmetic devices in station Kulata are 41 (14 controlled sections and 27 counting points) B) The term “arithmetic device” is the sum of the counting points in the station and the number of controlled sections, respectively the logical calculating devices.
Question 81: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.1, page 8: “As a condition of accepting the local shunting in a detached region, taking a horizontal position of the turnpike joists should be foreseen. In this case, in the switch-tower or just next to the local shunting column should be mounted additional command column for local control of the turnpikes (level-crossing) by the switch-tower signalman in time of shunting execution.”
A) What is the “Local shunting column”? Is this similar to the “stand-by local control” I asked before (at “Shuntings”)? Is it expected to be delivered too? Please specify that device.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 38 B) What is the “switch-tower”? Is the “switch-tower” related to the level-crossing device or assigned to shunting area? Please specify that device. C) What commands and messages does the additional command column proceed? D) Who enables and disables these columns and items (switch-tower, Local shunting column and additional command column for level-crossing) for shunting? Where can the enabling/disabling be done?
Answer 81: Mode “local shunting in a detached region” shall be foreseen only for station Petrich. A) On the local shunting column there are: a button for adoption/return of the local shunting mode, buttons for individual control of all involved in the detached region switch points and the relevant indication. B) The buttons for turnpike joists control for station Petrich are mounted on the same local shunting column MK 2 (Chapter 1.1.4, page 75). C) Please, see the answer above. D) The station foreman enables and disables the local shunting by the required facilities for control.
Question 82: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.1, page 8: “At the situation on the level-crossing that threatens the train movements and shunting security, the signalman should have possibility of closing the signal of the route set by way of the level-crossing using a leaded button called “Closing a signal” on the local control command column.” Is the local control command column one of these columns mentioned above (switch-tower, Local shunting column or additional command column for level-crossing)?
Answer 82: Such mode of level-crossings’ control is not used on the railway line under consideration.
Question 83: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.4, page GENERAL MACHINERY 1 Switch turnover device SOA-3 non-shear off units 15. There are 15 turnover devices in the part list but there are 20 centralized points and 6 wedge blocks in the station Damjanitsa.
A) Are some of them turned manually? B) If we need for all of them turnover devices: how many off them are SOA-3 shear off types? C) Is the SOA-3 an additional switch turnover type or was the COA-3 meant? D) If SOA-3 differs from COA-3, please specify what’s different.
Answer 83: We are sorry about the misprint in Chapter 1.1.4, page 56. The number of the centralized points is 9 and the number of the wedge blocks is 6. Totally – 15 turnover devices.
A) There are three manually operated points: № 101, 9 and 11 B) The foreseen turnover devices are all of the type COA – 3Н. C) No. COA and SOA are different abbreviations of the same type of switch machine.
Question 84: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.3, page 167: “According to the Terms of reference the train operation for sections Kulata Promahon, Kulata-G. Todorov, G.Todorov- Petrich, G.Todorov-Damyanitza and Damyanitza-Sandanski) will be provided with automatic block signaling without wayside signals”. In the description above there are 5 automatic blocks considered. That’s fits to the schematic drawing on page 171 as well as to the amount of arithmetic devices in the part list on page 169.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 39 A) What’s about the additional drawing on page 170? That picture describes another 6 automatic blocks (Nr. 6-11) for the stations from Blagoevgrad up to Sandanski? Should they also be part of the delivery? B) If these 6 autoblocks are part of project too, please specify the concerned station interlockings regarding the required integration of that automatic blocks, e.g. in terms of interlocking type, autoblock interface requirements, integration responsibility, …).
Answer 84: A) No ; B) Please, see the answer A.
Question 85: We would like to know if the fiber optic cable has to be provided by the tenderer? In this case, do it has to be installed by the tenderer?
Answer 85: The fiber optic cable shall be provided and installed by the tenderer.
Question 86: In the page 159 of the Technical Specifications a table with length the scope of supply for the proposal is listed. Here 15 STM-4 and 15 Mux. equipment are indicated. Could you define the stations where the equipment will be installed?
Answer 86: The location of the equipment is shown in answer to question 10.
Question 87: In the page 143 of the Technical Specifications is said the following: “The synchronization of the SDH network and the other digital devices shall be made by means of a separate high-precision synchronization device”. But this device does not appear in the scope of the page 159. Should this synchronization device be provided by the tenderer?
Answer 87: Please, see the answer to question 30.
Question 88: Could you tell me what will be the use of the conference module in the mux. (page 147 of the Technical Specifications)?
Answer 88: In each railway station there is a terminal (specialized analogue telephone unit) connected to the train dispatcher link and another terminal connected to the energy dispatcher link. Terminals to the energy dispatcher link exist in the power substations too. Both train dispatcher link and energy dispatcher link operate as a permenent conference for all participants (terminals connected to the dispatcher link). It is necessary each dipatcher link (train, energy) to be connected in each MUX through a separate conference bridge. The conference bridge of the MUX is used to mix the signals of upstream direction, downstream direction and the signal of the local terminal. Example of the usage of the conference bridge in a MUX is shown in the Fig.1.4.3 (page 155/212 of Volume II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS). Here (assuming this is the MUX No n), the signal from/to the previos station - MUX No (n-1) is in the time slot 4 of E1 stream of SDH (the left “E1 Ts4” the Fig.1.4.3). The signal from/to the next station - MUX No (n+1) is in the time slot 4 of E1 stream of SDH (the right “E1 Ts4” the the Fig.1.4.3). These signals are applied to the device named here “Mixing”, which in fact is a conference bridge. The third party of the conference bridge is the local terminal. Each party of the conference bridge of the MUX listens the sum of the signals, coming from the other two parties. Note: The using of time slot number 4 in the above mentioned Fig 1.4.3 is only an example. The number can be any from 1 to 30 speech channels of E1.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 40 Question 89: In the page 153 of the Technical Specification, a picture of the voice network is shown. We suppose that in every site that there is a telephone exchange, there will be a mux. In other case, how will this information be transported? Answer 89: The picture on page 153/212 represent only the interconnection of the telephone exchanges, which is a part, but not the entire voice network, as the operative and dispatcher links exist separately. The only sites with telephone exchanges in the section Blagoevgrad – Kulata are Blagoevgrad and Kulata. Subscribers of these telephone exchanges shall operate remotely (through the fiber optic cable end the digital transmission equipment installed by the tenderer) and shall be located in the other 13 sites with MUX.
Question 90: In the scope of the page 159 appear 6 units of “additional extension of existing telephone exchanges” to provided. We would like to know how many existing telephone exchanges there are, where they are sited and details about model and manufacturer. Do we have to suppose that there are 6 additional extensions for every existing telephone exchange? Answer 90: See the answer to question 12 and question 31.
Question 91: There is a demand of 15 SDH- and PDH-Multiplexer. Which stations are intended for the installation of these 15 systems? Answer 91: Please, see the answer to question 10.
Question 92: Is an overview map with the existing and coming telecommunication equipment sites of the project available? Answer 92: The information for the telecommunication equipment is available in the tender documents and these clarification answers.
Question 93: Is an interworking with existing telecommunication equipment required? What type of equipment exists and where? Answer 93: The interconnections with existing equipment are as follows: A. Interconnection with existing equipment on the border of the section Blagoevgrad – Kulata. - Trunk lines of the telephone exchanges of Blagoevgrad and Kulata to the telephone exchanges Sofia and Dupnitsa (See VOLUME II ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, page 153/212, Fig. 1.4). - Ethernet connection to the existing router in Blagoevgrad. - 4-wire analogue speech connection in Blagoevgrad to the train dispatcher and energy dispatcher. - connection for the distance control, see the answers to company 3, question 16.
B. Interconnection with existing equipment inside the section Blagoevgrad – Kulata – see VOLUME II ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, item 1.4. ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS, pages 152-156/212).
The spare capacity of the fiber optic cable and the digital transmission equipment will be used for other interconnections in the future.
Question 94: Are the emergency power supplies (UPS) available, or should they be part of the offer? Answer 94: Please, see the answer to question 43.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 41 Question 95: The SDH transmission equipment is configured in a ring structure via optical fibers. Normally the PDH multiplexer (FCM) are connected to the SDH devices to use the SDH transmission way. Is that right, or is the PDH equipment configured in a separate optical fiber ring? Answer 95: The PDH multiplexers (FCM) are connected to the SDH devices via E1. They use the SDH transmission way.
Question 96: The description of the FCM configuration is partially inconsistent. Is every PDH multiplexer configured in the same way? Are local battery interfaces required for the inter-station links? Are 6 E&M ports required in every station? Answer 96: The PDH multiplexers are not configured in the same way. Their configuration is site- dependent. The inter-station link requires local battery interfaces. The minimum interfaces in every station (including 6 pieces of E&M ports) are specified in VOLUME II ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, item 1.4. ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS, points 1 and 2, pages 152-153/212).
Question 97: The required 30 remote subscribers in Petrich station are connected to the telephone exchange in Kulata via the FCM devices. Is that right? Answer 97: Yes, that is right.
Question 98: Are the E1 links between the telephone exchanges connected to the SDH equipment? Are the E&M links between telephone exchanges connected to the PDH equipment? How many E&M links are required? For the FCM are just 6 E&M ports planned, but the telephone exchanges are equipped with 12 E&M ports. Answer 98: The E1 links between the telephone exchanges are connected to the SDH equipment. The E&M links between telephone exchanges are connected to the PDH equipment. The number of E&M ports of each of the telephone exchanges is 12 (see VOLUME II ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, item 1.4. ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS, point 3, page 153/212). The station FCMs shall be equipped accordingly.
Question 99: A necessary extension of the PABX in Sofia and Dupnitsa is mentioned. We request for more information about the existing exchanges. Manufacturer, model, necessary interface boards? Answer 99: See the answers to question 12 and question 31.
Question 100: According the specification, every railway station should be supplied with 6 telephone subscribers. These subscribers are connected to the next PABX via the FCM network. Is that right? Answer 100: Yes, that is right.
Question 101: The quantity documentation requires the delivery and installation of extensions for 6 existing telephone exchanges. Which stations are meant? We request for more information about the existing exchanges. Manufacturer, model, necessary interface boards? Answer 101: The point “1.4. D-y of ad. extension of existing T.E.- 6 units“ in the VOLUME II ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, item 1.7. QUANTITY DOCUMENTATION (page 159/212) envisages the cards listed in the answer to question 12, for the existing telephone exchanges listed in the answer to question 31.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 42 Question 102: The visual information boards should present the information in Cyrillic spelling. Is that right? Answer 102: Yes, that is right.
Question 103: Are acoustic announcements required? Are amplifiers and loudspeakers available or required? Should the public address system work only in automatic mode or is a local call station for manual announcements required? Answer 103: Please, see the answer to question 50.
Question 104: Must Regulation (Naredba) 55 of the Ministry of Transport and Communication be respected by installation of level crossing equipment? Answer 104: Yes.
Question 105: In Annex III in the Budget breakdown for the station Kulata (page 63 of Volume II) there is difference in number of relays in positions “Inscribe relay on a stand” (1300 units) and “set a relay on a stand “ (720 units). Is that correct or is it an oversight? Answer 105: For station Kulata the correct number of relays in position “set a relay on a stand” is 1300.
Question 106: In Annex III in the Budget breakdown there is mentioned no quantity of relays for the station General Todorov. Is that correct or is it an oversight? Answer 106: For station General Todorov the quantity of relays which shall be foreseen is approximately 1600 units – both for positions “Inscribe relay on a stand” and “set a relay on a stand “. It shall be defined more precisely by the Contractor on site.
Question 107: Certain construction and installation works are not stated in Part 1.2 Telecommunications, as follows: Delivery and installation of fiber optic joints; Delivery and installation of ODF; Conducting of measurements of constructed FOC lines; Delivery of fiber optic cable /type, number of optical fibres/. Therefore, is it consequently following that the above-mentioned items are to be included in item ‘Drawing out OK’? Answer 107: Please, see the answer to question 14.
Question 108: Are costs for security works along the Blagoevgrad-Kulata catenary network to be included? /Regarding p.165 from Volume 2 - ‘At valued don’t foresee means for fencing at switch off to tension in contact network, as and due taxes for move to necessary railway technique on stations and between stations’./ Answer 108: The costs for security works have to be secured by the Contractor. The works shall be executed in the operational conditions as it is written in the Special Conditions, Volume I, p.23.
Question 109: Are any costs for the necessary train and electric “windows” for implementation of the project activities to be also included in the Financial Proposal?
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 43 Answer 109: There are not any costs necessary to be paid to the NRIC for the train and electric “windows”. Regarding to the requirement, that the works and assemblage activities shell be executed in the operational conditions as it is written in the Special Conditions, Volume I, p.23, please, see also the question 37.
Question 110: With reference to Volume II, “Digital Transmission and switching equipment” chapter, paragraph 1.4.1 Telephone link, ”Each railway station should provide for at least 6 telephone subscribers from the nearest railway automatic telephone exchange, transferred by an optical system”. Please specify exactly the number these of users in each station, to which equipment they connect and the type of this connection.
Answer 110: The number of subscribers per point is specified in VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4.1 “Telephone link”. The subscribers shall be analogue telephones. They shall be connected to the FXS circuits of FCM at the subscriber side. See also the answer to question 1.
Question 111: With reference to Volume II, “Digital Transmission and switching equipment” chapter, paragraph 1.4.2.1 and 1.4.2.2 Train Dispatcher and Energy dispatcher, please give detailed description of the equipment required since it “does not use equipment from the railway automatic telephone exchange and operates in parallel and independent from the telephone network.” Also, please define the number of dispatchers and the number of subscribers in each station and the way they interconnect to each other or to other equipment. Answer 111: There are 2 dispatchers – train dispatcher and energy dispatcher. Both dispatchers are located in Sofia. Please, see also the answers to question 44, question 88 and question 93.
Question 112: With reference to Volume II, “Digital Transmission and switching equipment” chapter, paragraph 1.4.2.1 and 1.4.2.2 Train Dispatcher and Energy dispatcher it says: “The links with the devices at the railway station and with available line of the train dispatcher ….”. Please give technical description of this device and how it should interconnect with other equipment or lines. Answer 112: Please, see the answers to question 44, question 88 and question 93.
Question 113: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part - Please provide us more technical details (drawings, cable laying and installation between two consecutive jointboxes, average cable section lengths between two consecutive jointboxes, etc.) regarding required installation accessories and installation method. Answer 113: Please, see the “Technical Requirements…” attached to the answer to question 19.
Question 114: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part - Which is the usual distance between consecutive poles where the cable will be installed? Which are the climatic conditions on the route (wind speed, ice depot conditions, minimum and maximum temperatures, etc)? Answer 114: The typical distance between the consecutive poles of the catenary is from 35 to 55 m. See the “Technical Requirements…” attached to the answer to question 19.
Question 115: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" and Appendix 3 to code 1.2.11 (page 162/212) - Please provide us with the name of the sites where the SDH and FCM equipment (15 network elements) will be installed.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 44 Answer 115: Please, see the answer to question 10.
Question 116: With reference to chapter "Digital Transmission and Switching Equipment" and Appendix 3 to code 1.2.11 (page 162/212) - Please provide us with a detailed diagram showing the interconnections between the transmission sites as well as between the equipment to be delivered in one site (i.e. interconnections between SDH, FCM, PBX, etc.). Answer 116: The interconnection to the existing equipment is specified in the answer to question 93. The interconnection between the units of the supplied equipment shall be provided by the contractor.
Question 117: Please precise which are the available connections that will be provided by the Railway Company for the transport the management information from the SDH equipment sites to the management site (e.g. RS232, LAN, E1 G.703)? Also, please precise the available bandwidth on such connections. Answer 117: The management information shall be transported, for more reliability, in 2 independent ways, as specified in VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.5 “DISTANCE CONTROL” (page 157/212) – through switched telephone line via modems and through the WAN media. Please, see the answer to question 47. The interface through WAN is RJ-45 (Ethernet).
Question 118: Please detail what training sessions are required to be included in the lump sum for this service? Answer 118: The training details shall be provided by the contractor.
Question 119: With reference to the interfaces that should be equipped on the SDH equipment, please confirm that they should be according to the technical specifications page 152 of 212, paragraph 1.4 - ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS (i.e. 2 x STM4, 1 x Fast Ethernet port, 4 x E1).
Answer 119: The number of each of the interfaces of the SDH equipment in each of the 15 sites shall be proposed by the contractor. It shall cover the requirements of the VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”. The stations Blagoevgrad and Kulata shall be equipped with STM-1 optical interface for better utilizing of the STM-4 capacity. The STM-4 optical interfaces in each of 15th sites also shall be supplied for normal interconnection of the SDH / STM-4 over the fiber optic cable. The number of the interfaces specified in VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4, point 1 (page 152/212) is the minimum number.
Question 120: With reference to the interfaces that should be equipped on the Flexible Communications Multiplexers, please confirm that they should be according to the technical specifications page 152 of 212 (i.e. 2 x E1, 6 x Central Battery, 6 x E&M, and Conference Module). Answer 120: The number of each of the interfaces of the FCM equipment in each of the 15 sites shall be proposed by the contractor. It shall cover the requirements of the VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”. The number of the interfaces specified in VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4, point 1 (pages 152-153/212) is the minimum number.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 45 Question 121: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: The explicative memorandum 1.2.12 – Suspension of optical cable on columns of the catenary network (page 165 out of 212) mention that for each 3km of cable, a reserve of 120m should be provisioned on the towers with bilateral hard anchoring. However, between the drawings for the Fiber Optic cable sections Blagoevgrad - Kulata and the explicative memorandum there are discrepancies for what concerns the number of points where reserves should be made. As an example for section Tchernitche - P. Yavorov the number of reserve points mentioned in the memorandum is 4(columns 146-9, 149-7, 152-2 and 155-5) while in the drawings the number of reserve points is 2 (columns 146-9 and 149-8). Consequently, you are kindly asked to precise the number of towers on each section where 120m reserve of FO cable should be provided. Answer 121: The requirements for the jointing and the reserve are specified in the included in the answer to question 19 “TECHNICAL REQIUREMENTS OF RAILWAY CABLE BLAGOEVGRAD – KULATA”, Chapter III – JOINTING AND TERMINATING OF THE CABLE”. The Contractor shall make the corresponding amendments in the design.
Question 122: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: Please precise the place where should be placed the reserve of 120m of cable: on the tower or in the manhole (installed underground). In case the reserve will be placed in the manhole, please precise who will provide the manhole. Answer 122: Please, see the answer to previous question 121.
Question 123: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: Please provide us with the average distance (in kilometres) between two consecutive splices on the cable. Also, please confirm that jointing between two cable sections will be done using aerial jointboxes mounted on the columns. Answer 123: Please, see the answer to previous question 121.
Question 124: With reference to the Optical Fiber Cable part: Please confirm that the lengths presented in table “Length of sections with optical cable” at page 95/212 represent the final cable section lengths (including reserves on the poles, on the rail stations and due to the cable sag.
Answer 124: The reserves and the cable sag are included, but the length of the cable stated in the table shall be considered as approximate only. The final and more exact lengths of the cable shall be worked out by the Contractor, after taking into account of all the ammendments in the design and the real situation on site.
Question 125: In the tender documentation for the station General Todorov the accessories of Electrical Interlocking Equipment are missing. We ask you kindly to specify these accessories. Answer 125: In the Technical Specification the term “accessories” misses. We are sorry, but we can’t give an answer to this unclear question.
Question 126: In the tender documentation for all stations there are two sections “Safe and Health Works Conditions” the content of which is different but similar. We ask you kindly to specify the necessity of filling in of these two sections. Answer 126: We are sorry about the oversight. It is necessary to fill in only one section, stated in the part Excavation works for each station.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 46 Question 127: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.4.1, page 181: “Machines and Equipment" is missed in the part list. Was there a different solution expected? Please complete description about the expected hardware solution! Answer 127: Equipment for automatic level-crossing device shall be foreseen only for station Petrich.
Question 128: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”; Chapter 1.1.3, page 47:An element "Electric switch lock" EC3 is listed. Please clarify if equivalent components are allowed to be offered. Moreover please give some details about the expected behaviour and specification of the Electric switch lock. Answer 128: Equivalent components are allowed to be offered. The presence of the key of the manually operated switch lock (Colben Danneg) in the electric switch column (an external box situated near the point) is an indicator of the switch’s position. Electrically the switch’s position is sensed and, in case there is a route set, the key remains blocked in the column.
Question 129: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”: Are the required local battery analog interfaces (p.1.2.2) connected with serving of the train dispatcher link, according to p.1.4.2 from Annex II Technical Specifications? Answer 129: No, the local battery analog interfaces are not connected to the train dispatcher link, described in point 1.4.2.1. Details of the connection of the train dispatcher link are given in Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”, point 1.4.2.1. Please, see also the answers to the questions: question 44, question 93, and question 88.
Question 130: Volume II, Annex II, “Technical specification”: Does the required 2xE1 connection according to p. 1.4.2.3 from Annex II Technical Specifications should be with HDB3 line coding as it is pointed in p. 1.2.2? Answer 130: Yes, it shall be with HDB3 coding.
Question 131: Volume 2, code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.4. Arrangement of the links. You state in the tender that “the project should provide for interface circuit boards for the telephone exchanges in Sofia /DZITI/ and Dupnitsa /KAPSH/ “: A) What is the type of the existing telephone exchange in Sofia, Dupnitsa and possibly other sites (manufacter, year of made, model, interfaces, available free slots)? Please, describe in details the existing equipment in Sofia and Dupnitsa.
B)Where should be delivered the E&M connections?
Answer 131: A) See the answers to question 31 and question 12. There are available free slots.
B) The E&M connections are used in the following cases: 1. For connecting the telephone exchanges Blagoevgrad and Kulata to Sofia, Dupnitsa and between them – as a second trunk line (the first trunk line is through E1). See VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter 1.2.12 “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4. “ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS”. 2. The E&M interfaces of the FCM are used to connect the station terminals of the train and energy dispatcher links (through the corresponding conference bridges). In this case only the 4 wires (with the speech) are used. See VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter 1.2.12 “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4. “ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS” points 1.4.2.1 and 1.4.2.2. 3. The E&M interfaces of the FCM are also used for other not listed applications.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 47 Question 132: Volume 2, code 1.2.11 Chapter/Article 1.4. – Telephone lnk. You describe in 1.4.1 that each railway station should provide at least 6 telephone subscribers from the nearest telephone exchange.
A) Please, specify which railway stations should be equipped with telephone subscribers? B) How many telephone subscribers should be delivered in every station – if more than six? C) Of which type should the subscribers be: digital or analog? D) (How) should the telephone exchange in Petrich be connected to other sites?
Answer 132:
A) As specified in VOLUME II, ANNEX II – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, chapter 1.2.12 “Digital Transmission and switching equipment”, paragraph 1.4. “ARRANGEMENT OF THE LINKS”, each FCM shall have as minimum 6 telephone subscribers. The number of telephone subscribers (FXS ports) in Petrich shall be 30, in the other places with SDH and FCM equipment – 6. Note 1: The FCM in Blagoevgrad and Kulata shall not have telephone ports FXS, as the subscribers in these stations use the existing local cables. The FCM in Blagoevgrad and Kulata shall have telephone ports FXO, the number of which corresponds to the FXS ports of the other stations. It is possible the Contractor to propose for the FCM in Blagoevgrad and Kulata another way of connecting the remote subscribers (not through FXO). Note 2: The telephone sets that will be connected to the FCM or directly to PABX Blagoevgrad and Kulata are existing ones. B) Please, see the answer to the previous question. C) The subscribers shall be standard analog telephones. D) Please, see the answer to question 97.
Question 133: Regarding to Excavation works at the Kulata station: In part excavation works starting from point 1. to 11., in column amount, the figures are lifted with one line and therefore do not respond the type installation works. According to our analysis in position 1. The figure should be 27. Additionally we would like to point out that line 11. is empty. Please clarify and confirm. Answer 133: The measure and amount of line 1 corresponds to line 2, the measure and amount of line 2 corresponds to line 3 and so on up to line 10 which corresponds to line 11. The measure and amount of line 1 are as follows: measure: units; amount: 27.
Question 134: Part Save and Health Work Conditions is doubled, once on p14 and p16. Please clarify and confirm. Answer 134: Please, fill in only the part on page 14.
Question 135: In part Save and Health Work Conditions point 12. Signalmen guard is missing. Please clarify and confirm.
Answer 135: The position “Signalmen guard” shall be added to the list on page 14 with parameters as follows: measure: hours/men amount: 480.
Question 136: Regarding to General Todorov station, Cables is doubled on p31-32 and p33-34. Please clarify and confirm.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 48 Answer 136: The list of cables on pages 30 and 31 is incorrect.
Question 137: BOQ for electronic interlocking equipment is missing. We believe it is the most significant part of the project and should be added. Please clarify, confirm and provide BOQ for the above. Answer 137: The project concerns only relay interlockings. The electronic interlocking is a variant solution, which if proposed, shall be presented separately from the main tender proposal.
Question 138: According to our analysis, in part inside assembly works some installation works are missing and others are with decreased quantities. Please confirm the BOQ.
Answer 138: The Contractor may add some positions (but may not exclude such) and increase some quantities in the BOQ in part inside assembly works, regarding to the proposed by him technology solution.
Question 139: Part Save and Health Work Conditions is doubled, once on p32 and p34, Please clarify.
Answer 139: Please, fill in only the part on page 32.
Question 140: According to our analysis in part Electronic Interlocking Equipment, point 2. Stand point switches СТ (ЕЦ-М) set with relay and blocks, the quantity is not sufficient. Please clarify the quantity
Answer 140: The Contractor could increase some quantities in the BOQ in part Electronic Interlocking Equipment, point 2. Stand point switches СТ (ЕЦ-М) set with relay and blocks, regarding to the proposed by him technology solution.
Question 141: Part Save and Health Work Conditions is doubled, once on p45 and p48. Please clarify.
Answer 141: Please, fill in only the part on page 46.
Question 142: In part Save and Health Work Conditions point 12. Signalmen guard is missing. Please clarify and confirm.
Answer 142: The position “Signalmen guard” shall be added to the list on page 46 with parameters as follows: measure: hours/men amount: 480
Question 143: Regarding Damyanitsa station, in part Outside Assembly Works, in the column amount, the figures from 1. to 24. are lifted with one line and do not correspond the type installation works. In the column designation, item Assembly of COA 3 is missing. We believe it should be added with amount 15. Thank you for your clarification and confirmation of the above two questions and quantity proposed.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 49 Answer 143: Obviously there is a mistake. The measure and amount of the blank line under the title “OUTSIDE ASSEMBLY WORKS” corresponds to line 1 (e.g. for line 1 the measure is “unit” and amount is “2”). The measure and amount of line 1 corresponds to line 2 and so on till line 29 which measure and amount correspond to the figures of line 28, respectively “unit” and “18”. The value “5” in line 29 is incorrect. The correct amount for line 30 is “46” instead of “36”. The item “Assembly of COA- 3” shall be added with amount “15” to column designation.
Question 144: In part Save and Health Work Conditions point "Signalmen guard" is missing. Please clarify and confirm.
Answer 144: Please, fill in only the part “Save and Health Work Conditions” on page 61. The position “Signalmen guard” shall be added to the list on page 61 with parameters as follows: measure: hours/men amount: 480.
Question 145: Regarding to Outside Assembly Works on p.60, Please clarify the meaning of the following abbreviations:
A) “DB and SK”. B) “Make and assembly of УПМ-24” C) “Delivery of set for switch turnover "СОА – 3 – set” and in particular “set of switch”
Answer 145: Please, be informed on the meanings of following abbreviations:
A) “DB” means distributing box, “SK” means signal box. B) “УПМ 24” is a cable distributing box used in our devices. C) “СОА-3 – set” means switch turnover equipped with accessories for fastening to the rail track.
Question 146: Regarding to the Electronic Interlocking Equipment, p.62, please clarify the meaning of the abbreviation “CH and OPB”
Answer 146: “СН” means “Apparatuses for automatic block signaling direction change”. “ОРВ” means entire relay interlocking apparatuses for one station.
Question 147: Regarding Designation of materials on p.62, please clarify the meaning of the abbreviation “UPM(УПМ) – 24”.
Answer 147: “УПМ 24” is a cable distributing box used in our devices.
Question 148: Regarding to Putting in operation and adjustment works on p.63, please clarify the meanings of the following abbreviations:
A) “RUKZ” B) “B124” C) “CCH”
Answer 148: Please, be informed on the meanings of following abbreviations:
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 50 A) “RUKZ” is signaling equipment currently in use which shall be foreseen for disassembly and substitution. B) “В124” means test and adjustment activities per one unit switch/signal/controlled block. C) “ССН” means “Circuit for automatic block signaling direction change”.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 51 CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR LOT2
Question 1: With reference to "Administrative and BB part", ANNEX III : Budget Breakdown, Table:1.6. PART: TETRA Components Col "D", "UNIT COSTS WITH DELIVERY DDP PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE /EUROS" and In Volume II, At page 198, Anex II, Volume2, "9. Deliver and installation: The contractor should deliver (DDU Kulata) …". Please specify what unit price will be quoted in BoQ: DDU Kulata or DDP Kulata? Answer 1: Please, see Answers 9, 17 and 23 above under part Answers to questions on volume I
Question 2: With reference to "ANNEX III: Budget Breakdown, Table: 1.6. PART: TETRA Components": The services in BoQ are quoted only for training. Please explain how the item price structure is to be presented in the offer in the table 1.6 in order to include the following items: a) Installation and technical support services for TETRA Base Unit? b) DRRS equipments? c) Installation for DRRS equipments? d) Installation of mast/pole or tower? e) The quantity for Hand-Held Stations is: 6pcs. Accessories from BoQ are only for 1 Hand-Held Station. Please confirm that BoQ will be modified for 6 Stations accessories, respectively: belt clip: 6pcs - total main charger: 6pcs - total batteries (2 pcs/station): 12pcs - total f) Any necessary shelters or 19"racks?
Answer 2: Table 1.6 with the item price structure should be changed minding the following: a) Yes, price included in the table; b) Yes, price included in the table; c) Yes, price included in the table; d) No, price not included in the table; e) Yes - Belt clip - 6 pcs (total); - Main charger – 6 pcs (total); - Batteries – 12 pcs (total). f) Yes, price included in the table
Question 3: With reference to "4.1. TETRA Base Station" (page 195/212): Please specify what kind of equipment will be used for Tetra Base Unit: indoor or outdoor? Answer 3: The equipment of the TBS will operate indoor.
Question 4: With reference to "9 Delivery and installation TETRA Base Station" (page 198/212): “The contractor should deliver (DDU Kulata) the necessary equipment for the TETRA System for the border region Kulata, install it, test it, integrated it to the existing NSBP TETRA network and train the user in operating the system within 2 months from the signature of the contract." Please specify whether training within 2 months for this considering that entire system is operating by Ministry of Interior? How many trainees are to be trained? Answer 4: The bidder should propose a terminal end-user training course for 20 users of the Portable Hand-Held Stations - to use and handle the equipment properly.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 52 Question 5: With reference to "4.3. Digital Radio-Relay System" (page 196/212): Please specify what kind of equipment will be used for DRRS at both sides: indoor or outdoor? Answer 5: It is necessary 2 (two) radio-relay units with the pointed parameters, which realize one hop, to be delivered. Their traffic modules will operate indoor.
Question 6: With reference to "4.3. Digital Radio-Relay System" (page 196/212): Please specify if it is "Line of site" between TBU and TETRA exchange and distance "on the fly"? Answer 6: Yes, it is “line of site” between the TBS site and the other point. The distance between them is not more than 20 km.
Question 7: With reference to "4.3. Digital Radio-Relay System" (page 196/212): Please specify that it is necessary at each side mast/pole or tower construction? Answer 7: The Radio-relay unit, which is at the TBS site, will be installed on iron mast.
Question 8: With reference to "4.3. Digital Radio-Relay System" (page 196/212): Please specify whether DRRS equipment at existing TETRA exchange (DXTip) if it is indoor will be mounted in an existing rack? Answer 8: The second radio-relay unit will not be installed at the place where DXTip is.
Question 9: What is the deadline for provisional acceptance of LOT2, because of the text mismatch – “…time limits for completion till 30 of October 2006 for Lot 1 and within 90 calendar days for Lot 2” (as per Volume I, Instruction to tenderers, article 1.1 - page 3) or “The contractor should deliver……. within 2 months from the signature of the contract” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 9 – page 198)?
Answer 9: The deadline for submission of LOT2 is in accordance to the Instruction of tenderer.
Question 10: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1 (page 99). Please confirm that the “TETRA Base Station with 2 carriers” item includes also the following items: o Base Station Unit (with 2 carriers)? o Installation of the equipment? o Warranty and after-sales services for 1 year? o Documentation?
Answer 10: The “TETRA Base Station with 2 carriers” item which is in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1 (page 99) includes also the following items: Base Station Unit (with 2 carriers) – Yes, price included in the table; Installation of the equipment – Yes, price included in the table; Warranty and after-sales services for 1 year – Yes, price included in the table; Documentation – Yes, price included in the table;
Question 11: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1.1 (page 99). The quantity of antenna is 1. In TETRA technology, in order to achieve better coverage typically is used a configuration of 1 transmitting antenna and 3 receiving antennas. By this means, can we consider, that the “quantity 1” is related to the set of antennas?
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 53 Answer 11: Minding that in the TETRA technology, in order to achieve better coverage typically is used a configuration of 1 transmitting and 3 receiving antennas, it follows to be considered that in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1.1 (page 99), the “quantity 1” is for the whole set of antennas.
Question 12: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1.4 (page 99). Please confirm that the “Interfaces between the Base Station and the existing NSBP TETRA NETWORK” include also the following items: a) Digital Radio Relay System (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.3 – page 196)? b) Expansion board in the existing NSBP TETRA NETWORK exchange, if necessary? c) “Necessary license for the existing TETRA exchange” (as per Volume II, Technical
Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 3.2 – page 195)?
Answer 12: In return of your request we confirm that the following items are included in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 1.4 (page 99): a) Digital Radio Relay System - Yes, price included in the table; b) Expansion board in the existing NSBP TETRA NETWORK exchange is necessary and price included in the table; c) “Necessary license for the existing TETRA exchange” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 3.2 – page 195) - Yes, price included in the table.
Question 13: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.1 (page 100). Which of the text prevails – “belt clip, quantity 1” (as per the table) or “Quantities - 6 (including for each station – belt clip, main charger and batteries 2 pcs)” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.2 – page 196)? Please clarify should the quantity of the belt clips be 6pcs? Answer 13: We confirm that the quantity of the belt clips in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.1 (page 100), is 6 (1 for each of the 6 Hand-held terminals).
Question 14: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.2 (page 100). Which of the text prevails – “main charger, quantity 1” (as per the table) or “Quantities - 6 (including for each station – belt clip, main charger and batteries 2 pcs)” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.2 – page 196)? Please clarify should the quantity of the main chargers be 6pcs? Answer 14: We confirm that the quantity of the main chargers in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.2 (page 100), is 6 (1 for each of the 6 Hand-held terminals).
Question 15: Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.3 (page 100). Which of the text prevails – “batteries, quantity 2” (as per the table) or “Quantities - 6 (including for each station – belt clip, main charger and batteries 2 pcs)” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.2 – page 196)? Please clarify should the quantity of the batteries be 12pcs? Answer 15: We confirm that the quantity of the batteries in Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown, article 2.3 (page 100), is 12 (2 for each of the 6 Hand-held terminals).
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 54 Question 16: Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 3.2 ( page 195). Please confirm that the civil works does not include provision of mast/pole and shelter and the Beneficiary will provide them? Answer 16: The Beneficent is responsible for provision of mast and shelter. The bidder has no responsibilities for provision and installation.
Question 17: Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.1 (page 195). Is it required, the supplied Base Station to provide to the end-user terminals, within its area of coverage, the following services: a) Simultaneous user terminal originated voice service + short messages? b) End-to-end encryption? c) Individual call within the whole existing NSBP TETRA network – duplex and simplex? d) Group call within the whole existing NSBP TETRA network – simplex? e) Individual call with PABX subscribers of NSBP - duplex? f) Group management -Multiple groups per user? -Scanning of groups? -Group priorities? -Late entry to groups? g) Emergency call? h) Short messages service -Status messages? -Individual messages? -Group messages? i) IP packet data service?
Answer 17: It is required in Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 4.1 (page 195), following services to be added to the TETRA Base Station supporting services: a) Simultaneous user terminal originated voice service + short messages – Yes, to be added; b) End-to-end encryption – Yes, to be added; c) Individual call within the whole existing NSBP TETRA network – duplex and simplex - Yes, to be added; d) Group call within the whole existing NSBP TETRA network – simplex - Yes, to be added; e) Individual call with PABX subscribers of NSBP – duplex - Yes, to be added; f) Group management - Yes, to be added; -Multiple groups per user - Yes, to be added; -Scanning of groups– Yes, to be added; -Group priorities – Yes, to be added; -Late entry to groups - Yes, to be added; g) Emergency call – Yes, to be added; h) Short messages service – Yes, to be added; -Status messages – Yes, to be added; -Individual messages – Yes, to be added; -Group messages – Yes, to be added; i) IP packet data service – Yes, to be added;
Question 18: Can you confirm, that according to “The Beneficent will be responsible for:…Installation and maintenance of 2Mbit/s transmission line between the TETRA exchange in Sofia and the TETRA Base Station at Kulata” (as per Volume II, Technical Specifications, LOT2 – TETRA systems components, article 3.2 – page 195), the Transmission plan is as described below:
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 55 Bidder responsibilities:
modem Existing NSBP - DRRS /1 hop/ TETRA exchange Beneficent responsibilities: - leased line Leased line - modems
Base DRRS Station modem
Location X
Answer 18: The realization of the transmission links will be in the similar manner as the scheme, presented by you.
Question 19: In the technical specifications a requirement for a Digital Radio Relay System exists. However, in the financial offer template (Annex III) no such item is mentioned. Is it the same as with Interface between the Base Stations and the NSBP TETRA Network? Please clarify. Answer 19: In Volume I, Annex III – Budget Breakdown it is nececary the price for the Digital Radio Relay System (DRRS) hop and its installation to be minded. The DRRS is the same as the interface between the Base Stations and the NSBP TETRA Network.
Question 20: Beneficiary will install and maintain the 2Mbps line for connection of the Base Station and the TETRA Exchange. Can you provide more information on the usage of the Digital Radio Relay System? Answer 20: To clarify the usage of the DRRS, which is described in LOT2 “TETRA System Components” mind the following: The Digital Radio Relay System realizes one hop and its traffic module is 2x2 Mbps with G.703 Interface.
Question 21: How many batteries are required regarding the TETRA terminals: 2 in total or 2 for EACH terminal (2x6=12)? Please clarify. Answer 21: It is necessary each TETRA terminal to be equipped with 2 batteries or 12 pieces in total.
Clarification questions and answers on tender, publ. Ref: EuropeAid/120380/D/S/BG 56