Steel maker SAIL plans to begin the trial production of head hardened (HH) rails, utilized in metro rail and freight hall initiatives, by month-end, its Chairman Amarendu Prakash stated. The metal PSU was earlier wanting to begin the trial production of HH rails in August however deferred it due to the demand for regular rails like 880 grade from the Indian Railways, Prakash instructed PTI in an interview.
“We have the technology. We had planned for it (HH rail production) but then…they (Railways) requested us to defer the trials and now it is at the end of October,” the Chairman stated. HH rails are special rails utilized in high-speed freight corridors and metro rail initiatives. Such rails are manufactured utilizing head hardening expertise to bear about 50 % increased strain in contrast to regular rails.
SAIL has arrange amenities for the production of HH rails on the new Universal Rail Mill (URM) at its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh, and the chilly trials for a similar have already been accomplished. The PSU would be the second participant in India to begin the production of HH rails. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) produces HH rails at its plant situated in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
SAIL additionally produces cast wheels for the Railways at Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) in West Bengal, Prakash stated. The rails and wheels are provided to Indian Railways, he added. On the sourcing of coking coal, Prakash stated “We source coking coal from various sources Australia, the US, Russia and Indonesia. We also have a JV company in Mozambique.” SAIL sourced round eight coking coal shipments of 75,000 tonnes every from Russia through the April-September interval of FY24.
To improve coking coal provides, there are plans to double the production capability of Mozambique-based ICVL from 2 MTPA to 4 MTPA, he stated, including an in depth undertaking report is being ready on this regard. Mozambique-based ICVL is a special-purpose automobile of SAIL, RINL, NMDC, CIL and NTPC for buying coal mines and belongings abroad. On the rising costs of coking coal, the chairman stated it’s going to instantly have an effect on the enter value and construct strain on revenue margins.
From USD 230 a tonne in June-July 2023, the coking coal costs climbed to commerce at USD 341 per tonne CFR (value and freight) India in September finish. On the EU’s mechanism of carbon border adjustment tax (CBAM) on exports, the official stated, “It will add to the cost of supplies to Europe for Indian exporters. The exact impact and the quantum of impact is still to be assessed as Europe is still working on this.” The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), underneath the Ministry of Steel, is the nation’s largest steel-making firm with an annual capability of over 21 MTPA.
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