ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products contributed to two major transportation projects in Mexico aiming to improve connectivity by supplying 115RE AREMA standard rails and 33C1 guard rails from its mills in Gijón, Spain and Królewska, Poland.

Shorter travel times between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean

The La Mata – Colonia Jordan section is part of the Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway, the interoceanic rail line that will cross the Tehuantepec isthmus, the country's narrowest stretch between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

The works for the La Mata – Colonia Jordan section, developed by the Spanish company COMSA, consist of the rehabilitation of 33.5 km of tracks, including the complete replacement of the superstructure.

ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products Rails & Special Sections participated in the project and supplied 115RE R8 AREMA standard rails of Low Alloy Intermediate Strength (IH) at 80ft long to customers COMSA México and CONSORCIO FERROVIARIO FIT.

The modernisation of this 132-kilometre section of railroad will help to reduce travel times, increase train speed, reduce costs, and diversify the line by enabling the transfer of cargo and passengers.

Reducing the journey times of 130 000 users by 40%

The second project involves the comprehensive renovation of a 7-kilometre section of double track on light rail line that serves the southern part of Mexico City.

ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products Rails & Special Sections participated in the project and supplied COMSA México with:

• 115RE R8 Intermediate Strength Steel grade 80ft rails in AREMA 2016 standard.
• 115RE R8 Carbon Rail High Strength (HH) 18m rails.
• 33C1 guard rails in 12m length.

The section between the Azteca Station and Xochimilco (locally known as el Tren Ligero de la Ciudad de México) will be renovated to restore the operational and safety capacity of the light rail line and to rehabilitate the platform and the drainage system, among other actions.

The light train came into operation at the beginning of the 2021, reducing the journey time between the two stations by 40%, and is expected to serve 130 000 users.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Photos:
© COMSA

Related link(s)

La Mata – Colonia Jordan rail line

El Tren Ligero de la Ciudad de México

In March 2021, ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products launched RailCor®, a completely new range of corrosion resistant rails to protect from severe corrosion environments no matter whether the rails: are installed inside tunnels, city centres, or coastal areas; face demanding corrosion challenges; or fight specific corrosion produced by stray currents - or even to protect the rails during shipment.

Thoroughly tested and available in four solutions

RailCor® was developed by ArcelorMittal Global R&D and has been tested through a wide range of systems in accelerated corrosion tests. The selected solutions have been tested on real tracks for more than two years under the most severe conditions.

RailCor® is available in four specific solutions to meet the most demanding customer requirements to protect rails against corrosion depending on the location and final application. Two solutions are designed to offer long-term protection in severe environments. A third one protects rails against corrosion by stray currents. The fourth solution is ideal for low corrosion environments or during shipment and storage.

RailCor®’s economic and sustainability advantages

In addition to protecting rails against corrosion, RailCor® offers:

• Increased rail service life
• A considerable reduction in rail track maintenance and rail replacement costs
• Increased cost savings reducing Life Cycle Cost as there is a remarkable decrease regarding rail replacement expenses

The ends of the rails remain uncoated on delivery to facilitate handling, welding, and drilling.

RailCor® meets the most demanding coating standards

RailCor® was designed and tested to include excellent steel adhesion acting as the best physical barrier to protect the rail and to meet the most demanding standards, such as:

• ISO 12944-5:2018 (Protective paint systems for steel structures)
• ISO 4624:2016 (Paints and varnishes – pull-off test for adhesion)
• ISO 2063-1:2017 (Specifies requirements for the protection of iron and steel surfaces against corrosion by applying thermal-sprayed metallic coatings of zinc, aluminium, or their alloys)

RailCor® is a registered trademark of ArcelorMittal and can be ordered by customers today.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
ArcelorMittal

2021 is the European Year of Rail.

Officially launched on 29 March by the European Commission, the European Year of Rail will aim to highlight the benefits of rail as a sustainable, smart, and safe means of transport. “Environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient, rail will play a crucial role in helping the EU become climate neutral by 2050. The COVID-19 crisis has also shown how rail transport can facilitate the supply of essential goods such as medical devices, food, and fuel in exceptional circumstances” declared Oleg Butković, Croatian Minister for the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, President of the Council of the EU.

A truly sustainable means of transport

Rail emits far less CO2 than equivalent travel by road or air. It accounts for only 0.4 % of EU greenhouse gas emissions, while all EU transport accounts for 25% of the EU’s total emissions. Plus, it is the only transport means that has consistently reduced its emissions and energy consumption between 1990-2017 while increasingly using renewable energy sources.

Moreover, rails are infinitely recyclable. At the end of its service life and when it is removed from the track, a rail can be recycled as raw material to manufacture new rails or other steel products, which means a significant amount of natural resources and energy savings. This ability to infinitely recycle is one of the environmental strengths of steel.

ArcelorMittal committed to being climate neutral by 2050

As the world’s leading steel and mining company, ArcelorMittal supports the European Commission’s Green Deal and believes the right market mechanisms are a critical part of enabling the deployment of low-emissions steelmaking. ArcelorMittal was one of the first companies to support a proposed carbon border adjustment and backs the European Commission’s proposals for a €35 billion ‘just transition’ fund to invest in research, innovation, and green technology.

ArcelorMittal Europe has committed to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 with a further ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the EU’s Green Deal and the Paris Agreement. As Europe’s largest steelmaker, we have a significant role to play.

ArcelorMittal has recently launched XCarb® as part of the company’s journey to deliver on its 2050 net zero commitment. XCarb® will ultimately bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focused on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon neutral steel.

ArcelorMittal Rails & Special Sections bringing innovation to the railway sector

ArcelorMittal Europe Long – Products Rails & Special Sections operates rail production facilities in Spain, Poland, and Luxembourg offering a wide portfolio of products covering rails for trains, undergrounds, trams, light rails, crane rails, crossings, and rail accessories, building an incomparable knowledge and expertise of these product ranges.

ArcelorMittal’s current main trending topics for railway are:

• Digitalisation: ArcelorMittal Rails & Special Sections is extending its 4.0 transformation with the launch of several digital tools such as the new Rail Tool app, Life Cycle Cost models, and predictive maintenance.
• Increasing rail length in order to provide further track safety, welding, track laying, and maintenance cost savings.
• Increasing rail service life with the most appropriate solutions related to different applications: LCV for tramways, new hardness grades for heavy haul, and other uses.
• RailCor®: A completely new range of corrosion-resistant rails which offer protection in severe environments whether the rails are installed inside tunnels, city centres, or coastal areas. It also offers increased rail service life and increased cost savings reducing Life Cycle Cost.
• Customer experience: The development of new passenger and citizen-oriented solutions to increase comfort and reduce traffic noise.
• R&D: To satisfy customers’ increasing requirements, ArcelorMittal has its own dedicated R&D Rail Excellence Centre that allows us to provide our customers with prompt, innovative, and cost-effective solutions. The research lines are structured around three main axes: optimisation of the manufacturing process, new product development, and implementation of new rail track solutions. The welding pilot plant, the advanced testing systems of in-use properties, or the ongoing developments of track monitoring are some examples of the solutions that ArcelorMittal, through the R&D Rail Excellence Centre, will bring to the railway sector. This will be possible thanks to an open innovation in collaboration with a network of universities, technology centres, and companies from the railway sector.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications

Video:
ArcelorMittal

Images:
ArcelorMittal
Shutterstock