The special R 260 grade vanadium alloyed rail is targeted to meet the requirements of the national transporter for higher speed and higher axle load.
The first consignment of R 260 has been sent out through rake from the firm’s Bhilai steel plant (BSP), which is located in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Indian Railways gets new rails for faster trains! To meet the requirement of Indian Railways, state-owned SAIL has dispatched the first batch of special R 260 grade vanadium alloyed rails. The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), said in a statement that on June 30, 2020, the first consignment of R 260 has been sent out through rake from the firm’s Bhilai steel plant (BSP), which is located in the state of Chhattisgarh. On June 30, 2020, Anirban Dasgupta, Director with additional charge of CEO, BSP, flagged off the first rake, SAIL stated. The special R 260 grade vanadium alloyed rail is targeted to meet the requirements of the national transporter for higher speed and higher axle load, according to a PTI report.
Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways is moving towards higher speed as well as higher axle load rails for which the national transporter required the state-owned company to produce R 260 grade. Thus, SAIL has started producing the same successfully. The R 260 grade’s high strength of over 550 Mega Pascal (MPa) will allow the national transporter to withstand more rigorous rail traffic as well as achieve better life. It said that the rails shall be supplied to Indian Railways in the form of 260 meter long welded panels. Rolled by SAIL-BSP, the new grade of rails is based on R 260 grade specifications issued by the Research and Development wing of Indian Railways (RDSO).
According to the report, the R 260 grade specification issued by the RDSO is more stringent compared to the European specifications on various parameters. One such parameter is that in steel, the hydrogen content is 1.6 ppm (maximum), while the hydrogen content is 2.5 ppm (maximum) that is specified in the European specification. The R 260 rails are being produced by SAIL/BSP from its new and modern Universal Rail Mill in Chhattisgarh. According to SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary, rails would get higher yield strength with this Vanadium micro-alloyed steel. The new grade of rails will ensure cleaner steel and also, it will provide better mechanical properties, the report added.
The first consignment of R 260 has been sent out through rake from the firm’s Bhilai steel plant (BSP), which is located in the state of Chhattisgarh.
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