Small and disadvantaged business enterprises (SB/DBE) are encouraged to seek direct contracting or subcontracting opportunities for the hundreds of construction projects Amtrak intends to put out for bid this summer as part of $1.3 billion in stimulus-related funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

"Amtrak has a tremendous amount of work to do and will need the help of small businesses across the country to get it done right, on time and on budget," said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, noting that the passenger railroad is moving fast to put contracts in place in order to meet ARRA-funded project deadlines of February 2011.

Specifically, Amtrak is looking for firms to contract with directly or as a subcontractor in areas including architects and engineers, construction and security to help with a variety of small and large projects including major infrastructure projects. Amtrak is currently seeking to find and pre-qualify companies that can bid and perform as prime contractors for these contracts.

In order to help the business community maximize the potential for contracting or subcontracting opportunities, Amtrak has posted the list of ARRA-funded projects by state with a summary of the work to be performed here.

In addition, active contract solicitations can be found at Amtrak's Procurement Department Website at http://procurement.amtrak.com/.

Additionally, a listing is available of prime vendors Amtrak typically or currently contracts within the areas of architects and engineers, general contractors, major IT firms and firms that are eligible to submit proposals to manage a portion of the work to be performed at Amtrak train stations across the country. Amtrak is asking SB/DBEs to be pro-active and introduce themselves to these companies with specific projects of interest.