British Steel has announced that it has secured a contract to supply track for Egypt’s Green Line railway. The multi-million dollar contract will see the firm provide 9,500 tonnes of track that will be produced at its plant in Scunthorpe, UK for Egypt’s first fully electrified mainline and freight network.
The network is 660km long and will carry passenger and cargo trains up to speeds of 250km per hour. British Steel is said to be among a number of key suppliers providing rail for the project. The rail supplied is expected to be 60E1 in grade R260, each at 18m in length.
“We are delighted that British Steel has been awarded this contract and to be involved in such a transformational project for Egypt, which will bring significant improvements to the transport network. The British Steel rail business prides itself on providing value solutions to our customers, being easy to trade with whilst providing on-time deliveries with world-leading quality,” said British Steel Commercial Manager Export – Rail, Jérôme Bonef.
The railway project will stretch from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The line promises to revolutionise Egypt’s transport system, with the construction of a high-speed network reducing primary energy usage and overall air pollution.
Bonef notes that two shipments of rail will be transported from British Steel to the north Egyptian port of Alexandria this month and in June. It will be used to extend the line from Alexandria via El Alamein to the Mediterranean coast in the north-west and eastwards to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, he stated.
The project is being managed by Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors Joint Venture with the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of the line handled by the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) for Egypt.