Indian private-sector company Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) is planning to commission a new 1.2mn t/yr rail and heavy structure mill at its Angul steel complex in Odisha.
The new mill will take the steelmaker's total rail-making capacity to 2.2mn t/yr. The firm's existing 1mn t/yr rail mill in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, develops speciality rails such as 1175 HT, R350 HT, asymmetric rails, and 1080HH rails that are primarily used by various metro rail corporations, high-speed corridors and the bullet train project.
"Even though there is surplus rail capacity in India, there are markets abroad we will be looking to feed as well after meeting India's requirements," said JSPL's managing director Bimlendra Jha.
The company has supplied speciality rail blooms for European railways, it said.
The Raigarh rail mill currently supplies 260m rails to Indian Railways, dedicated freight corridor corporations and other critical government projects. It's speciality rails of 1080 HH grade are used on the Metro and regional rapid transit systems in India.
The steelmaker has also developed 60E1 1175 heat-treated rails suitable for high-speed and high-axle load applications for the Indian railway track system, which is being upgraded to carry more than 25t of axle load and speeds of up to 200 km/hour.
