OREANDA-NEWS. EVRAZ ZSMK has completed certification of low temperature-resistant HH350 rail, receiving the relevant certificate from The Federal Railways Certification Register. The first in the world head-hardened rail intended for use at low temperatures successfully passed tests at The Russian Rail Transport Research And Development Institute. The certificate opens the way to commercial production and sales of the new rail type within the Customs Union.

"EVRAZ is the world's pioneer in producing head-hardened rails for low temperatures", says Aleksey Ivanov, Vice-President, Head of the Steel Division, EVRAZ. "At EVRAZ ZSMK, our engineers developed a special grade of steel and identified the parameters for hot rolling, which together help attain the required impact resilience characteristics, or, in other words, ensure resistance to low temperatures. This is a real break-through in production of rails which opens up unprecedented opportunities both in the domestic market and abroad".

The new rail type is intended for cold climates with temperatures going down to minus 60 degrees Centigrade, i.e. in the Northern regions of Russia, in the Far East, in Eastern Siberia. The high damage tolerance at low temperatures increases the service life of rail and brings down the maintenance costs while improving safety. The new rail type is available in lengths from 8 to 100 meters.

It is worth noting that it took EVRAZ engineers just one year to roll out the new technology. Currently The Russian Rail Transport Research And Development Institute is developing the technical specifications for welding the new rail type.