Railways global tender eludes Bhilai plant

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)-owned Bhilai steel plant (BSP) is itself to blame that it will not be ready to participate in the forthcoming global tender by the Indian Railways (IR) for procurement of head-hardened rails. The development is taking place soon after the commissioning of long-delayed universal rail mill (URM) at Bhilai as an important component of SAIL’s Rs72,000-crore modernisation and expansion programme. Bhilai URM now going through ramping up of capacity will in course of time make head-hardened rails, but not soon enough to be able bid for orders from IR in the near future for this particular product.

BSP has been supplying rails to IR for over five decades from its long operating rail and structural mill, which though periodically upgraded does not have the facility to make head-hardened rails. A special heat treatment method is employed to harden the head of rails to make these suitable to take high axle load. Such rails are compulsorily used in metro rail projects and high speed freight corridors. Universal rolling leaves ideal grain structure and surface finish to rails.

In the impending tender, Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) will be seeing a window of opportunity to make a breakthrough in supplying rails to IR, which so far has remained the preserve of BSP. JSPL stole a march over BSP when in September last it commissioned a head-hardened rail mill at Raigarh in collaboration with SMS Meer of Germany. The mill is designed to make 30,000 tonnes of special rails where hardness is nearly 50 per cent more than normal rails. JSPL is one of the seven producers of this special rail in the world. BSP will at some point join their ranks.

The declared new metro rail projects in the country alone will create demand for at least 500,000 tonnes of head-hardened rails in the next couple of years. More and more cities here are finding in metro rail system the answer to traffic congestion, creating demand for head-hardened rails in the process. The demand from metro rail projects apart, IR’s track modernisation programme will require at least one million tonnes (mt) of head-hardened rails in five years, says JSPL.Supplies from JSPL and BSP whenever it starts making head-hardened rails will substitute imports. Rails are ideally made and procured from within the country. In case of imports, IR will have to provide for relatively long lead time and perhaps will also be required to maintain inventory at some cost. JSPL managing director Ravi Uppal said earlier: “We would aim to bring down the existing import cost difference between head-hardened and normal rails. Apart from getting head-hardened rail at a cheaper price, buyers will also benefit from shorter delivery time when locally procured.”

The steel ministry is to seek cabinet approval to its proposal for mandatory use of locally made steel in government funded projects. Obviously imports will be allowed for those varieties of steel which are still not locally made. This stand of steel ministry will prove beneficial for JSPL in case it participates in the forthcoming IR global tender.

Head-hardened rails apart, IR wants growing quantities of long rails of 130 to 260 meters for laying of new tracks and replacement of old ones. BSP’s 1.2 mt URM mill has facilities to roll 130 meter long rail that is now the world’s longest single piece. The mill has been set up in technical collaboration with SMS Meer. Alongside the mill, Railtech International of France 

has built a rail welding complex, which will allow BSP to finally supply 520 meter long rails to IR by welding four 130 meter long pieces. With the commissioning of URM, BSP now has rail making capacity of 2 mt, including 800,000 tonnes at rail and structural mill.