Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), and Jindal Stainless (JSL) have bagged steel supply contracts worth Rs 1,586.39 crore from the Railways. The bids for procuring mild/corten steel sheets/plates/coils were called in July 2023 but the award was finalized earlier this month.
Another tender was called for buying stainless steel sheets and plates in February 2024 which was also awarded at the same time. SAIL has bagged the majority share in both tenders.
SAIL will be supplying 1.05 lakh tonne of steel worth Rs 671.27 crore and another 16,356 MT of stainless steel worth Rs 217.90 crore. Tata Steel has the second highest supply quantity with 52,753 MT of steel being procured by the Indian Railways for Rs 333.48 crore. The steel would be utilized in fabrication of railways wagons, coaches, and foot over bridges (FOBs), among other uses.
Indian Railways has recently raised its locomotive production target for FY25 by 27 percent to 1,500 units, and will be unchanged till FY27.
The Railways have eight production units in the country where they make wheels, axles, locomotives and coaches. They had aimed to close the financial year 2023-24 with 1,180 new locomotives.
