September 07, 2008

JSPL seeking RDSO approval for rails for Indian Railway

Live Mint reported that Jindal Steel & Power Limited plans to pitch for its rail sales to Indian railways after commissioning a new degasser at its plant and is seeking approval from the Lucknow based Research Design & Standards Organization for the new quality of rails.

JSPL has been trying to sell rails to Indian railways for last 4 years to 5 years but could not succeed due to the issue of hydrogen content earlier as hydrogen gas is believed to increase the likelihood of the metal cracking, which poses high accident risks. The report cited an official of RDSO as saying that hydrogen is as like having a fissure in a bone. He said “If hydrogen is present, if forms a bubble and tends to crack when force is applied to the metal.”

But with the commissioning of new degasser, JSPL can control the hydrogen content in steel making a probably meet the standards set by RDSO for supply of rails to Indian Railways.

Mr Vikrant Gujral vice chairman & CEO of JSPL said that the new rails will start rolling out from its Chattisgarh plant in the first week of December 2008.

In 2003, JSPL, with sales of more than INR 3,000 crore, set up a steel mill in Raigarh to produce heavy beams and rails. It installed a tank degasser, which allows for hydrogen checks while steel is still in a liquid stage and meets European railway standards known as UIC 60.

JSPL’s rail mill is capable of producing 120 meter rails, which are the longest size and need less welding fixes and demand for them is expected to rise with the construction of high freight corridors and other infrastructure projects.

At present, Indian Railway buys all of its rail steel from SAIL, whose Bhilai Steel Plant produces 880,000 tonnes of finished rails a year and supplies 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes to Indian Railways every year.