Rocky Mountain Steel Mills starts up advanced rail mill

Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, part of Orion Steel — a leading U.S. producer of engineered steel products for rail and industrial sectors — has begun hot commissioning activities at its new Danieli universal rail mill in Pueblo, Colorado.

The new rail mill is designed to produce 650,000 short tons per year of high-quality, flat-bottom and thick-web rails, up to 88 kg/m, in lengths of up to 100 meters, with hardness reaching 425 BHN.

The rails produced meet AREMA specifications and are suitable for heavy-haul and high-speed railway applications.

Key technological areas under commissioning include the break down mill (BDM), tandem reversing mill (UFR), cooling bed, and the horizontal and vertical straighteners. Hot trials are underway, and startup activities are progressing according to plan.

The new rail mill is the most advanced in North America, featuring Danieli’s cutting edge technologies in rolling, automation and process control for long-length, premium quality rails.