Jindal Steel and Power Ltd is set to supply rails for the high-speed railway and metro rail projects with the opening of its ` 200-crore plant.

The plant, capable of delivering 30,000 tonnes of rails per month, is set up in collaboration with SMS MEER, Germany. It also propels JSPL into the elite club of 7 global steel majors, who have the capability to manufacture head hardened rails in the world.

Head hardening technology entails a special heat treatment process which requires very precise temperature control to achieve nearly 50 per cent higher hardness as compared to a normal rail.

On the remarkable achievement, Naveen Jindal, Chairman of JSPL said, “In line with the government’s thrust on ‘Make in India’, JSPL has successfully completed trials of head hardened rails and is all set for commercial production. JSPL being the only producer of head hardened rails in the country is poised to play an important role in the growth of India’s rail infrastructure.”

While speaking on the occasion Ravi Uppal, MD and Group CEO of JSPL said, “The government’s renewed impetus on railway infrastructure development and the proposed introduction of high speed and bullet trains necessitates the establishment of domestic facility to fulfil the need of Indian Railways. We envisage our indigenously produced rail product line which includes India’s longest rails and head hardened rails, to be the preferred choice for the upcoming metro and high speed rail corridors in India.”

Hitherto, such rails used in Metro projects as well as high-speed freight corridors have been imported. “JSPL’s indigenously produced, international quality rails – besides offering substantial economy in prices, will facilitate delivery in shorter times and smaller order quantities when required, thereby reducing the dependence on imports as well as savings of precious foreign exchange,” the company said issuing a statement.

The Ministry of Railways has a stated budget of ` 8.6 lakh crore over the next 5 years for modernisation of Indian Railways. The government’s target of laying 7 kms of new rail tracks everyday (2,800 kms during this fiscal) and envisaged target of up to 19 kms per day in 2018-19, is encouraging and offers tremendous opportunity for the indigenous industry. Based on the current demand projections, India has a requirement of over 1 million (10 lakh) tonnes of head hardened rails over the next 5 years. At its current capacity, JSPLs head hardened rail facility can produce 30,000 tonnes of rails per month i.e. around 3.6 lakh tonne per annum.

JSPL has the unique distinction of producing the longest single piece track rails measuring 121 m at its Rail and Universal Beam Mill in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. It has already supplied its rails to many prestigious projects including the Dedicated Freight Corridor and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation amongst others.