Scunthorpe-based British Steel (www.britishsteel.co.uk) has secured a major new contract from Infrabel, Belgium’s national railway operator.

The four-year agreement is for the maintenance and renewal of the Belgian rail network; it will see British Steel supply up to 40,000 tonnes of rail per year, with deliveries scheduled to start in January 2019.

Richard Bell, commercial director (rail), said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this contract and look forward to working in partnership with Infrabel over the next four years.

“We operate in a highly competitive market, so it’s extremely pleasing that — after a short break — Infrabel has again named us as its main supplier.”

The steel for the rail will be manufactured in Scunthorpe, before being transported to the company’s ‘state of the art’ rail-rolling facility in Hayange, France. A shuttle service will then deliver train loads of the rail direct to Infrabel’s welding plants.

The main grade of rail will be British Steel’s R260, although there will also be smaller volumes of its Stress-Free heat-treated and switch rails.

This latest deal follows British Steel’s two-year contract extension with Network Rail (the company operating and maintaining the UK’s rail infrastructure).

This involves supplying Network Rail with over 200,000 tonnes of rail.

Mr Bell added: “We have an excellent tradition of working with national operators such as Infrabel, Network Rail and SNCF, who are all benefitting from our products and services.

"Working in partnership with our customers, we can offer superb value for money by reducing the need for costly and time-consuming maintenance and replacement works.”