Steelmaker SAIL announced its plans to start trial production of end-hardened (HH) rails, used in metro rail and freight corridor projects, by the end of the month, as stated by its chairman Amarendu Prakash. Prakash, in an interview with PTI, explained that the steel PSU initially planned to start trial production of HH rails in August. However, this plan was postponed due to the Indian Railways' demand for normal rails such as the 880 class. "We have the necessary technology. We initially planned it (HH track production), but then... they (Railways) asked us to postpone the trials, and now it is scheduled for the end of October," the chairman noted on. HH rails, which are specially designed for high-speed freight corridors and metro rail projects, are manufactured using end hardening technology. Thanks to this technology, these rails can withstand approximately 50 percent higher pressure compared to regular rails. SAIL has established facilities for manufacturing HH rails at the new Universal Rail Mill (URM) at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh. The cold tests for this have already been completed. Notably, SAIL will be the second player in India to take up the production of HH rails, with Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) currently manufacturing HH rails at its plant in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.