Indian state-run steel producer Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is negotiating with national transporter Indian Railways (IR) for supply of 1.55 million mt of steel rails during the fiscal year 2020-21, a company official said on Thursday, March 12.
The official said that SAIL is seeking to increase its steel rail supplies to IR in the coming fiscal year compared to 1.35 million mt of supplies made during the current fiscal year.
IR is expected to complete the negotiations and place a formal order for steel rail procurement for the next fiscal year sometime around the end of March or the first week of April, the official said.
SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is the only steel mill of the company that produces steel rails from its Universal Rail Mill (URM) with an installed capacity of 2 million mt per year.
The URM produces 130 meter single-piece long steel rails and 260 meters steel rails with a single weld. BSP is also considering production of even longer rails of 520 meters for which additional facilities will have to be added to the mill, the official added.