Vietnamese enterprises join hands with German partners to produce high-speed train rails

Hoa Phat has become the only enterprise in Southeast Asia to produce high-speed train rails after signing a cooperation agreement with Germany's SMS Group.

The only enterprise in Southeast Asia that can produce high-speed railway rail steel

On May 29, 2025, Hoa Phat Group and SMS Group (Germany) signed a contract to supply technology and production lines for steel rails and shaped steel with a capacity of 700,000 tons/year. The line is expected to be completed within 20 months and produce the first high-speed rail products in the first quarter of 2027. With this investment, Hoa Phat Group is the only enterprise in Southeast Asia that can produce steel rails for high-speed railways.

SMS Group (Germany) signed a contract to supply technology and production lines for rail and shaped steel with a capacity of 700,000 tons/year for Hoa Phat.

This is the most modern production line in Europe with a super flexible 4-roll rolling system, providing superior precision, ensuring consistent product quality according to international high-speed rail standards. Currently, 90% of the world's rail rolling lines use SMS Group's technology and equipment.

Specifically, SMS Group will design, supply and install the production line of rail and special steel for Hoa Phat. This rail rolling process will include: Bloom & Beam Blank billet furnace; rough rolling; multi-purpose reverse rolling; laser scanning system to automatically detect surface defects and product contours; non-destructive steel quality control system (NDT); fine straightening system to ensure optimal quality; rail end tempering system and synchronous rail hole drilling system. All main equipment is manufactured in Germany with a strict and synchronous quality control system, ensuring that it meets the requirements for rail production for high-speed railways in Vietnam and around the world.

The output products are special types of steel that no Vietnamese enterprise has been able to produce. For example, steel for urban railway rails, crane rails, high-speed railway rails, or U, I, H, V-shaped steel and special steel, serving key national railway projects and exporting to international markets.

It is known that currently only a few large steel corporations in the world can produce high-speed railway steel such as Voestalpine (Austria), JFE (Japan), Baosteel (China), JWS Steel (Italy),...

Meets the world's most stringent standards

With the advantage of steelmaking from iron ore with few impurities, Hoa Phat steel rails produce lengths of up to 100m, high straightness, flatness, and superior rail hardness; the enterprise controls the precise geometry of the rails with laser equipment, ultrasonic internal defects to ensure the quality of the steel rails before releasing them to the market. The project's products meet the world's most stringent standards, including EN 3674 (Europe), JIS E1120 (Japan) and TB/T2344 (China), meeting strict technical requirements in the transportation and heavy industry sectors.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long said that the investment in the steel rail factory is to serve high-speed railway projects in particular and key national projects in general.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long said that the group focuses on promoting the production of high-quality steel to serve the railway, oil and gas, energy and defense sectors, contributing to replacing high-quality steel products that are currently imported. Fulfilling its commitment to the Government , Hoa Phat invested in a factory to produce rail steel, shaped steel and special steel, ensuring the supply of the best quality products at competitive prices, serving high-speed railway projects in particular and key national projects in general.

Mr. Bernhard Steenken, Vice President of Sales APAC-MEA, SMS Group added: “ We have provided similar production lines to partners around the world, serving high-speed railways in the US, China, India, Europe and the Middle East. SMS Group is committed to providing Hoa Phat with the best quality production lines and ensuring the progress as planned. And this is the first enterprise in Southeast Asia to produce high-speed railway rail steel and many other special steels with international quality standards. SMS Group not only supports the construction of a factory, but also wants this to be an important legacy for Hoa Phat as well as the steel industry of Vietnam.”

SMS Group is a world-leading metallurgical equipment supplier with a tradition of over 150 years of providing technology and equipment for the steel and non-ferrous metal industry. SMS Group supplied the first rail plant equipment in 1990 and has so far supplied 14 lines globally, ensuring the highest standards of quality and performance. It is also a long-term partner of Hoa Phat. Previously, SMS Group provided many equipment items for the Hoa Phat Dung Quat Iron and Steel Complex project, Hoa Phat Hai Duong Iron and Steel Complex.

Hoa Phat Group is the largest steel producer in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. From the end of 2025, the company's designed steel capacity will reach 15 million tons/year, focusing mainly on hot-rolled steel and high-quality steel for the mechanical engineering industry.

Thuy Linh

Source: https://congthuong.vn/doanh-nghiep-viet-bat-tay-voi-doi-tac-duc-san-xuat-ray-tau-cao-toc-389852.html