Tata Steel has won an order to manufacture 60,000 tonnes of rail for a new high-speed line linking the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Steel for the project will be made at the company’s Scunthorpe plant before being rolled into rail in lengths of 25m both there and at the company’s plant in Hayange, Northern France.
The new railway will be 276 miles long and enable trains to travel at speeds of 200mph. It will cross desert, withstanding temperatures ranging from freezing to +50°C, as well as sand storms, flash flooding and shifting dunes.
Gérard Glas, rail sector head, said: “ “Tata Steel is delighted to be contributing to this high-speed line, which will have to overcome some major challenges presented by building a high-capacity rail line across some of the most extreme terrain in the world.”
Work on producing the rail will start at the end of this year and is expected to continue throughout 2014.
