British Steel has supplied the West Midlands Metro extension with more than 1,100 rails of 39e1 profile rail, the company said in a statement July 3.

The announcement underscores the government’s emphasis on the importance of still having a domestic steel producer.

 “As the UK’s only manufacturer of rail, British Steel are delighted to be playing a part in this game-changing scheme and look forward to seeing how the project impacts public transport accessibility across the West Midlands,” Darren Cole, British Steel’s UK account manager for rail, said.

The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension is being delivered in two phases, with the first section between Wednesbury and Dudley town center in the final stages of construction. The second phase, which will see the continuation from Dudley to Merry Hill Shopping Centre, will shortly enter delivery too.

This route is set to be a key component of the region’s tram network. Like other West Midlands Metro extensions, it is being developed with significant regeneration and economic growth for the West Midlands area in mind, the company said.

Just a few weeks ago, British Steel secured a new five-year contract with Network Rail worth GBP500 million to supply 70,000-80,000 mt/year of rail.

The company supplies up to 95% of the UK’s rail network and provides other steelmakers in the UK with semi-finished products for further processing, such as slabs for making steel plates and wire rods for making steel wire. British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe is the only steelmaker in the UK that still produces crude steel after Tata Steel closed all its blast furnaces at Port Talbot in south Wales.

In a rushed sitting on April 12, the UK Parliament approved a bill that effectively gives the government control of British Steel, allowing the company’s steelmaking operations to continue. Owner Jingye had previously failed to reach an agreement with the government on funding for the company’s transition to replace the 3 million mt/year blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces.