Naupada: Cementing the government’s vision of sustainable and modern infrastructure, Jindal Stainless supplied stainless steel for India’s first-ever stainless steel foot-over-bridge (FOB) inaugurated at Naupada, the salt bowl of Andhra Pradesh today. With this, the Company launched its most cost-effective and superior quality stainless steel for structural applications – Jindal Durasafe. This state-of-the-art FOB was jointly unveiled at a ceremony by Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Waltair Division, East Coast Railways, Mr Anup Kumar Satpathy along with Jindal Stainless’ senior management including Director, Mr Tarun Khulbe and Sales Head, Mr Rajeev Garg.
Taking note of this milestone, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless, Mr Abhyuday Jindal said, “This foot-over-bridge ushers in an era of sustainable infrastructure in stainless steel and Jindal Stainless is proud to collaborate with Railways for this momentous challenge. We are committed to providing tailor-made, corrosion-free, and eco-friendly solutions for the Indian climatic conditions, and bolster the Atmanirbhar spirit of the Indian stainless steel industry. I congratulate the government and Indian Railways for their visionary decision-making.”
Lauding this achievement, DRM, Waltair Division, East Coast Railways, Mr Anup Kumar Satpathy said, “India’s coastal railway infrastructure has, for long, been marred by corrosion. We congratulate Jindal Stainless for developing an optimum stainless steel grade to rise to the challenge. RDSO’s approval on the grade strengthens our confidence in this choice. We look forward to strengthening India’s railway infrastructure with sustainable choices going forward as well.”
In 2019, Indian Railways invited proposals for renewing FOBs in coastal areas, which were marred by a corrosion-prone environment, rising pollution levels, and negligible maintenance, across all railway divisions. Jindal Stainless developed the most cost-effective and high-quality stainless steel for structural applications – Jindal Durasafe especially for coastal areas. The grade, IRS 350 CR, has 10-12% chromium, a key ingredient in fighting corrosion, and has been designed for zero maintenance, ~100 years’ service life, and lower life cycle cost and carbon footprint. It comes in offerings like plates, girders, and channels. The Company collaborated with RDSO (Research Designs & Standards Organization) and IIT Roorkee for testing, approval and endorsement of the grade, which eventually led to its formalisation for coastal railway infrastructural applications.
Jindal Stainless has fulfilled the entire requirement of stainless steel for the Naupada project, supplying 140 MT. The Company implemented the overall manufacturing and installation of this FOB project in nearly 5 months in coordination with the Indian Railways and trusted fabricators. Leveraging its 50+ years industry experience, the Company actively provided technical assistance, cost-effective stainless steel fabrication techniques like saw welding and spray painting, and acted as a bridge between Railways, RDSO, and policy makers for developing custom-made solutions for the Indian Railways.
In the past, Jindal Stainless has supplied high-quality bespoke stainless steel products to the Indian Railways for developing LHB coaches, wagons, metro coaches and other railway infrastructure applications. The Company recently started supplying stainless steel for developing metro coaches for Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation’s (UPMRC) Kanpur Metro Project. This project will include design and development of 201 coaches, with each coach consuming approximately 9-10 metric tonnes of stainless steel to be supplied by Jindal Stainless.
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