SAIL now has plans to build 520-metre-long single rail line

After successfully rolling out world’s longest rail line, state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is now planning to build a 520-metre-long rail line.

Last month, the steel major had built welded panel stretching up to 260 metres. The company is equipped to produce up to 130 metres of rail line.

Construction of the 130-metre-long rail line has begun in the new universal rail mill (URM) installed in SAIL’s flagship entity- the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). The URM is part of SAIL’s expansion and modernisation programme that would increase BSP's steel making capacity to 7 million tonne per annum (mtpa).

The capacity of the new URM is 1.2 mtpa. Apart from the new facility, the BSP's existing 8,00,000 tonne rail mill would also begin operations, adding to the company's total rail mill capacity to 2 mtpa. BSP is the only SAIL entity producing rail.

“Under its future plan, the company is planning to build a 520-metre-long rail line,” said a SAIL spokesperson, while adding that the new product would have three welds.

The new URM has been equipped to produce 260 metres of rail line with a single weld, improved surface quality, less residual stress and improved straightness. The facility employs a fully automated welding machine to produce the 260-metre-long panels. It also has a fully automated rail handling facility.

Indian Railways, which is procuring rails only from SAIL, has a specific demand for long rails. The new mill would help the company to meet this demand comfortably. 

Simultaneously, the company's old mill would roll out rail panels measuring 18 metres that have a global demand. SAIL is currently exporting rail to 11 countries.