UK-based steelmaker British Steel, which is currently overseen by the UK government, has announced that it has signed a long-term agreement worth more than £500 million to supply 70,000-80,000 mt of rail annually to Network Rail, primary supplier of rails for the UK’s railway infrastructure. The five-year agreement can be extended for a further three years.
The rails, which will be manufactured at the company’s Scunthorpe steel plant, will largely be used for maintenance and renewals. Among the products to be supplied are two long-life rail innovations, HP335 and Zinoco® - both of which reduce the need for maintenance and replacement works.
British Steel has been supplying Network Rail with rails for more than 20 years and manufactured more than one million mt of rail for the latter in the last decade.