Steel for railway use can be mainly divided into heavy rail used for rail tracks, wheels used for railway locomotives and wagons, and profiled bars and
plate for railway wagons. In 2005, total Chinese rail steel output reached 3.1885 million mt.
A. Heavy rail for rail tracks
The major Chinese producers are Panzhihua Steel, Anshan New Steel and
Baotou Steel. Heavy rail
production amounted to 1.9254 million mt in 2005. Of this, 481,000 mt was destined for export, with South East Asia and some European countries being the main destinations.
Panzhihua Steel's steel rail is complete in specifications, covering hot-rolled rail, heat-treated rail, 60 kg/m rail for 200 Km/h train lines, common and high-speed switch rail. The unit weight of steel rail ranges from 37.2 kg/m to 75 kg/m, while the tensile strength can be classified into 880 MPa, 980 MPa, 1,175 MPa, and 1,275 MPa. The rail varieties include U75V (PD3), U71Mn, PD2, UIC900A and U70MnSi. Panzhihua Steel can not only manufacture steel rail according to GB, TB, UIC, BS, EN and AREA standards, but it can also manufacture rail of any kind of unit weight and section profile based on customer requirements. In particular, the 60 kg/m rail, 75 kg/m rail, 100-meter 60 kg/m rail for 200 km/h train lines, high-speed switch rail, on-line heat-treated rail, off-line heat-treated rail and some other products are now in the process of supplying demand in
China which was previously met by imports. Most of the rail is used for the maintenance of domestic railways and the
construction of new lines, while the rest is exported to former Yugoslav Republics,
India, Vietnam,
Myanmar and other countries. An owner of a number of intellectual property rights and patents, Panzhihua Steel is the first Chinese mill to have successfully developed rail for 200 Km/h train lines and to put it into industrial
production, replacing foreign imports in the process. As proved by actual application, the performance of heavy rail produced by Panzhihua Steel has reached advanced world standard, with its quality equivalent to Japanese levels.
The heavy rail output of Anshan New Steel totaled 652,000 mt in 2005. After its technical reforms, this steel mill took the lead in developing 100-meter-length hot-rolled rail. Its heavy rail ranges from 60 kg/m heavy rail, 50 kg/m, RI60 rail, 50N, BS100A, BS90A and UIC60. Currently, Anshan New Steel can manufacture heavy rail according to the latest Chinese standards for railway steel, in addition to JIS, AREA, EN, UIC and BS standards.
Baotou Steel produced 513,400 mt of heavy rail in 2005. This mill strictly controls its
production procedures, with the result that its products are characterized by stable mechanical performance and good welding features. It commenced
production on its second high-speed rail
production line on September 15, 2006, which makes possible the manufacture of 350 km/h high-speed rail.
B. Wheel for railway locomotives and wagons
Maanshan Steel is the largest
production base for integral rolling wheel and tire in
China, with a total wheel output of 123,700 mt in 2005, accounting for more than 90 percent of the domestic market share. Meanwhile, Maanshan's tire
production amounted to 22,800 mt - a market share of more than 80 percent. Maanshan Steel has introduced advanced
manufacturing equipment and inspection equipment from MFL, SMS, and GLAMA, which ensure the quality and accuracy of its products.
C. Profiled bars and plates for railway wagons
Railway profiled bars are mainly produced by long steel mills such as Panzhihua Steel, while railway plates are produced by flat steel mills such as Wuhan Steel and
Baosteel.
China is a country which uses the railway as its major means of transportation. Approximately 70 percent of
freight and 60 percent of passengers get to their destinations by train. The current railway operating kilometrage is ranked third in the world and first in Asia. Nevertheless, the level of kilometrage still fails to meet the growing demand of the national economy. It is estimated that an additional 12,000 kilometers will be constructed by 2020. This is an indication of the great room for development in
China's railway steel sector.