Minister inaugurates Universal Rail Mill at SAIL Bhilai

• Steel Minister inaugurates state-of-the-art Universal Rail Mill at SAIL Bhilai, flags off first rake
• URM established at a cost of Rs 1200 Crores to produce world’s longest single rails of 130 mts
• Rail production capacity of SAIL BSP becomes 2.0 MTPA, largest in any single location

New Delhi/Bhilai, 23^rd January, 2017:  Hon’ble Union Steel Minister, Shri Birender Singh inaugurated the new Universal Rail Mill at Steel Authority of India Ltd.’s (SAIL) Bhilai Steel Plant today and flagged off the first rake from the new mill. With this, SAIL has begun the commercial production of world’s longest single rail of 130 meters from the new Universal Rail Mill (URM). Shri Birender Singh congratulated

SAIL collective for commencing production from URM and said that, “it is a huge step towards the Make in India initiative, where India is pioneering in production of such quality products. The country needs to be self sufficient in meeting its specific requirements and products like the longest rails will solidify industry confidence.”

The state-of-the-art URM, established at a cost of about Rs. 1200 Crores will now take BSP’s total capacity to produce rails at 2.0 MTPA, which will be the largest rail production capacity in any single location for a Plant world over. Alongside the URM, which is part of the plant’s modernization & expansion programme (MEP), a long rail welding complex had also been set with proven technology for world class rail welding. The welding complex is equipped with fully automated flash butt welding machine to weld rail panels of 260-metre length and fully automated long rail handling facility. This URM complex would equip SAIL to meet Indian railways’ specific demand of 260 metre rails as the new mill is capable of producing 260 m long rail with a single weld and also has the provision to supply welded panels up to 520 m length in future. The rails rolled from this new URM will enable SAIL to produce rails with improved surface quality, less residual stress and improved straightness.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman, SAIL, Shri PK Singh said that, “With the inauguration of URM, SAIL has come one significant step closer to completing the modernisation. This URM complex with the latest technology will empower SAIL to meet the specific needs of Indian railways with greater efficiency and finesse. In the challenging market scenario, we expect to offer better solutions for specialized needs of our valued customers.”