JFE Steel Corporation has newly developed high performance premium rail (SP3) with excellent wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance for heavy haul railways. SP3 was manufactured with suitable alloy design and optimized production technology including thermomechanical control process (TMCP). SP3's pearlite lamellar spacing at rail head was extremely fine to be 0.07μm and surface hardness achieved HB440. In addition, SP3 showed high internal hardness of HB390 at one-inch depth from the surface of rail head. SP3 has been laid and tested in actual track curves of BNSF Railway in North America. In this test, rail head profiles were periodically measured to calculate lost area of rail head and also to estimate rail life. Furthermore, by periodical rail surface observation, comparison of rail wear and RCF resistance between SP3 and AREMA premium grade rail (HB370) was conducted. SP3 showed 22% better wear resistance than AREMA premium grade rail and satisfactory RCF resistance of SP3 was obtained with no severe surface flaking of rail head surface at 230 mgt. In conclusion, SP3 showed 28% longer life than AREMA premium grade rail.
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