(a) whether the Railways is considering ending state owned Steel Authority of India Limited’s a virtual monopoly on supplying steel for standard rail tracks;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Railways is also considering to purchase rail tracks from the private sector; and
(d) if so, the details thereof ?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)
(a) to (d) : Indian Railways is procuring its total requirement of rails from Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways and SAIL. Rail requirement that is not met by SAIL is amenable to procurement from alternate sources.
For the year 2017-18, SAIL has committed to supply 11.45 lakh-tonne rails. The balance requirement of about 3.14 lakh-tonne rails is under consideration for procurement from alternate sources other than SAIL. ********