According to Vijay Sharma, the head of Sales Department of Jindal Stainless Steel Company (JSL), India, the company has joined forces with the Indian Railway Department to modernize railway freight cars, passenger cars and railway infrastructure, especially railway bridges. At present, the company's market share in the field of railway passenger cars accounts for 60%. In the next four to five years, the Indian Railway Department plans to produce about 10,000 stainless steel passenger cars a year.
India has 7,500 kilometres of coastline and it is necessary to use stainless steel infrastructure. High air-borne salts in the marine environment cause rapid corrosion and degradation of infrastructure. In particular, bridges in these areas are facing serious collapse risks. According to industry data, India has about 135,000 railway bridges, of which more than 25% are over 100 years old and need to be replaced immediately. The first stainless steel footbridge will be built at Bhayandar Station in Mumbai in 2019. Although more than 1,000 bridges are repaired each year, there is a serious backlog in bridge reconstruction.
The Stainless Steel Materials for railway freight cars and passenger cars provided by JSL production have been tested and approved by RDSO. In addition to supplying stainless steel to railway departments, JSL also organizes assembly training in railway passenger car factories to improve their production. At present, the railway passenger car is changing from carbon steel to stainless steel.
Stainless steel has high impact strength, no deformation, and can absorb more energy during collision. This prevents damage to life in the event of an accident. Simple design, assembly and life-cycle cost reduction make stainless steel superior to other metals. In addition, the characteristics of corrosion resistance, fire resistance, high strength to weight ratio, easy welding and fast construction speed make Stainless Steel an ideal choice for railway passenger car and railway infrastructure.
