British Steel won its largest ever order and will provide Guinea Bauxite Company (CBG) 244,000 steel sleepers which will be used to upgrade the railway line at a bauxite mine in Guinea.
“This is fantastic news for our business, particularly given the high level of competition we faced to secure this contract. Our steel sleepers provide the perfect technical solution to the challenges facing rail operators in this region and we’re proud to have been chosen to support such a major project,” British Steel’s Export Sales Manager, Rail, Jérôme Bonef said.
Under the contract, the company will deliver 20,000 tonnes of its 436 profile steel sleepers over the next year. The manufacturer has partnered on the project with Trackwork, which processes the rolled sleeper into its finished form, and Pandrol, which is providing the railway fastenings to secure the sleepers.
The steel sleepers are stronger and more durable than wooden sleepers, which have been traditionally used in African regions. These rail sleepers are also 100% recyclable which are low-carbon and cost-effective solution for track operators.
“Pandrol are proud to have collaborated in this unique project, which brings together the finest range of British products and expertise in order to provide a complete sleeper and rail package for West Africa,” the Commercial Director of Pandrol UK Iqbal Chadda said.
Additionally, the transport of steel sleepers is much more efficient than the transport of their concrete equivalents as they are lighter and easily stacked. Road vehicles can carry 3 times more steel sleepers than concrete, meaning lower transport costs.
This is “the most significant single order for steel railway sleepers in the long history of our partnership with British Steel. Succeeding in the face of such high-level competition bears full testament to the expertise, competence and quality within our long-established global supply chain,” Trackwork Sales Manager Dave Roberts said.
Guinea is estimated to possess more than a quarter of the world’s supply of bauxite and as it continues to increase its export capacity, it needs to upgrade existing freight lines.
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