OREANDA-NEWS. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation has set up a system to manufacture and ship the world longest rails for railroads -- 150-meter long rails -- at Yawata Works.

Railway companies confront a challenge in the form of need to improve their rails to accommodate economic growth and resource developments. Such as Inter-city passenger trains are increasing its speed and decreasing its weight, and freight trains are carrying heavier and longer consist. This means that rails are used in a harsher environment than in the past.

NSSMC has been actively responding to this challenge by improving the quality of rail materials, and development and commercialization of more wear-resistant rails.

Rails for railways, after going through the process of hot rolling, are ordinarily cut into 25-meter standard lengths (or 50 meters as the longest to date) for shipment to users. Joints between rails are one of causes for noise and vibration and affect the comfort of the passengers, and are regarded as weak points in railway maintenance. To improve these problems, railway companies are welding those rail joints to make continuous welded rails.

The latest advance of this nature is completion of facilities at our Yawata Works enabling it to handle and ship out rails in 150-meter length, longest in the world. This long rail will serve to help stabilize the rail track, by reducing the number of weld, and reducing rail maintenance of railway companies.

NSSMC has been supplying rails to railway companies all over the world since 1901 when the rail plant at Yawata Works began its operation. With our 113 years of accumulated experience in rail manufacturing, NSSMC will keep improving its technology and product development capacity and will contribute for safer and more intensive railway transportation all over the world.