Bhilai Steel Plant Supplies 4,000 Tonnes of HT Rails to Indian Railways
The Indian Railways has been prioritizing the procurement of micro-alloyed and HT rails to accommodate its upgraded requirements. Responding to this demand, BSP?s modern universal rail mill has begun trial rolling of HT rails in addition to its regular production of micro-alloyed R260 grade rails.
Commercial production of the R350 HT rails commenced in October last year, following successful trials and subsequent approvals from SAIL and Indian Railways research divisions. The first consignment of 1,000 tonnes of 260-metre-long R350 HT rails was dispatched on October 31, 2023. Since then, a total of four rakes have been delivered, each containing 1,000 tonnes of these specialized rails.
These HT rails are crucial for sections of rail transportation that experience higher axle loads and speeds, where the friction between wheels and rails is significantly increased due to faster acceleration and deceleration of trains.
BSP, renowned for its long-standing collaboration with Indian Railways, produces the world's longest single-piece 130-metre rails and supplies 260-metre welded rail panels. To further meet the Railways' evolving needs, SAIL-Bhilai has also developed the R260 grade with the new 60 E1 profile, which has been in production since July 2022, offering more stringent norms compared to previous grades.
On April 24, SAIL-Bhilai dispatched three rakes of R350 HT rails in a ?combo rolling? mode alongside 56 rakes of R260 rails. The fourth rake of HT rails was produced over three days with a rolling average of 10 hours per day, marking a significant improvement in the acceptance rate of HT rails compared to the previous financial year.