After SAIL Fails To Meet Targets, Indian Railways To Float Global Tender For 7.5 Lakh Tonnes Of Rail

It is being reported that the Indian Railways plans to float a global tender of 7.5 lakh tonnes of rails which could be worth an estimated Rs. 4000 crores. The need for a global tender is being felt as the domestic supplier Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has not been able to meet its targets.

SAIL reportedly promised to supply 15 lakh tonnes of rail at the beginning of the Financial Year 2018-19 which was subsequently revised downwards to 12 lakh tonnes. However, it is being projected that SAIL would not be able to meet the revised targets as well as it is said to be currently supplying approximately 70,000 tonnes of rails per month. Resultantly, the supply for the year is expected to be around 8.4 lakh tonnes which is far below even the revised target.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that the Indian Railways is floating a global tender for the procurement of rails as a previous tender resulted in none of the global players qualifying.

With SAIL being unable to increase its production at the Bhilai plant, the railways are caught in a quandary in respect of whether to prioritise its target for commissioning of new lines or to meet its track renewal aims. There is a heightened need for rails as a slew of accidents resulted in the railways according to maximum importance to track renewal efforts.