 "Photo: Shutterstock")
State-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has started commercial production of world’s longest rail from its new universal rail mill (URM) in its Bhilai steel plant.
The 130-meter rail, which would be the world’s longest rail line in a single piece, was rolled at URM on Tuesday, the company spokesperson said. Indian Railways, which has a long term partnership with SAIL, would receive the rail supply.
The Bhilai steel plant is SAIL's only rail producing entity. The company has been supplying about 8,00,000 tonnes of rail supply to the Indian railways every year.
For the last two years, the railways have been demanding the setting up of a 260-meter-long rail. The Bhilai plant was fulfilling the demand by welding 65-meter rails produced from the old set-up. The plant’s 130-meter-long URM roll out, would require only one weld joint to meet the required demand.
The new URM has been set up under a collaborative modernisation programme of SAIL and BSP and will cost around Rs 1200 crore. The project would entail scaling up rail capacity to 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 1.2 mtpa.
With world class rail welding technology, the complex is equipped with fully automated flash butt welding machine that will be used to set up the 130-metre-long rail line with fully automated long rail handling facility. Moreover, welding activities will include binding of head hardened and micro alloyed rails in the new complex.
According to a spokesperson, SAIL and BSP are now in a position to meet the special requirements of railways and further strengthen partnership with it.
SAIL has been successfully meeting rail demands and has, in fact, developed special grades before. In 2010-11, the Nickle-Copper-Chromium (NCC) alloyed rails were rolled out for laying tracks in the South Central Railway zone.
