Steel appeal answered

UK rail track manufacturer saved – for now

Scunthorpe Steel Works in Lincolnshire in England has an extensiver internal rail system. Image: © Katherine Tuck Industrial Photography

Virgin steel is needed to make rail tracks. For that, you need steel blast furnaces. On Saturday, Britain’s last remaining blast furnaces were saved by an extraordinary government intervention. In a rare weekend sitting of parliament, legislation was passed to take public control of the steelworks at Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, on the English east coast. It means that Britain retains the means to manufacture its own rails.

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Author: Simon Walton

Simon Walton is RailFreight's UK correspondent.

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