NEW DELHI: The use of stainless steel as standard material for making train coaches could help in minimising casualties in rail accidents, Outokumpu India, the local arm of Finnish steel maker Outokumpu, said today.
Expressing concerns over recent train accidents and derailments causing loss of lives, Yatinder Pal Singh Suri, MD Outokumpu India, stressed on the need to use crash and corrosion resistant Stainless Steel as standard material for rail applications.
"Worldwide stainless steel has become the standard material for coach application. All regional, cross-country, metro, underground and light monorail train services worldwide rely on stainless sustainable solutions. The main reasons for preference of stainless steel over other materials include high impact strength to avoid crumbling, corrosion resistance, fire safety, ease of cleaning to maintain hygiene and visual aesthetics," the Finnish stainless steel major's country head said.
Suri in a statement said the Indian railway is currently using corrosion resistance stainless steel for new LHB coaches which are considered safer because they do not topple easily when a train derails.
"Use of two metre wide Duplex Stainless Steel sheet can enhance the productivity of railway coach factories besides improving the aesthetic beauty of the coach. Currently, railways is looking to produce more coaches than what they replace every year. Higher productivity with two metre wide sheets in Duplex is the quick and easy answer," he said.
Suri said since mid-1990s the use of stainless steel in passenger coaches is a common practice in developed economies such as the US, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea and Australia and many East Asian countries.
He said a duplex stainless steel coach is lighter and can be paintless and added that the stainless steel grades normally used by Railwaysinclude Austenitic and Duplex grades which need no painting or maintenance and can be recycled at the end of coach life in 50 years.