SAIL-Bhilai Steel supply boosts Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project

Bhilai Steel Plant, the flagship arm of state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL), has supplied more than 80,000 tonnes of steel for the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project.

The 508-km project, scheduled for completion in October 2028, will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad with a high-speed rail track where trains will travel at a speed of 320 kms per hour. The bullet train will take just 2 hours and 7 minutes to travel the distance.

The rail network will pass through Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar in Maharashtra; and Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The National High Speed Rail Corporation is executing the project.

The Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district has manufactured TMT bars in 500 D grade in different dimensions for use in the project. The company has been producing high-strength TMT bars with earthquake and corrosion resistance for use in large national projects.

In the first quarter of this fiscal year, SAIL-Bhilai’s Merchant Mill and the modern bar and Rod Mill together supplied more than 15,000 tonnes of TMT bars in 500 D grade of different dimensions, the company spokesperson said. Earlier, SAIL-BSP supplied over 65,000 tonnes of TMT bars in 500 D grade for the same project.

SAIL-Bhilai’s TMT Bars are being used in construction of piers and girders of the high-speed rail corridor project that will support the load-bearing capacity of the steel bridges that are being fabricated for laying the bullet train rail corridor.

The plant’s Merchant Mill also rolls out TMT bars both in Fe 500 D and Fe 550 D grades with earthquake-resistant properties. Additionally, HCR, or high-corrosion resistant properties, are provided to meet the needs of customers.

Besides dams, thermal, hydro-electrical, and nuclear power projects, bridges, highways, flyovers, tunnels, and high-rise buildings all over the country, TMT bars from SAIL-Bhilai have been used in some landmark projects such as Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge, Statue of Unity, Agra Expressway, on which fighter planes have landed, and in several bridges and tunnels in north and north-east India.

Apart from TMT bars and rods in Fe 500 D grade, Bar & Rod Mill also rolls out TMT products in Fe 550 grade and the SAIL SeQR grade, introduced by SAIL for retail customers for the construction of houses etc.

The Bhilai Steel Plant has also supplied SAE 1008 grade wire rods to Nepal. It is used by the wire-drawing units for making GI wires that are used for making of Gabion box installed for arresting landslides in hilly terrains.