The announcement of a major Turkish rail contract has given politicians and policy makers a complicated set of messages to process. On one hand, British Steel securing an eight-figure deal to supply 36,000 tonnes of rail for the 599km Ankara–İzmir high-speed railway is exactly the kind of commercial success that the plant’s supporters have argued is possible. On the other, it comes against the backdrop of £359 million in losses since the government emergency takeover — a figure that has already been disclosed to parliament.
The deal with ERG International Group, supported by UK Export Finance, will see Scunthorpe-made rail used on one of Turkey’s most ambitious and environmentally significant transport projects. It has created 23 new jobs and triggered the return of 24-hour production at the plant for the first time in over a decade — both tangible, positive outcomes.
Industry voices have been unequivocal in their praise. UK Steel called the contract “essential to underpinning a sustainable turnaround” and urged the government to do more to address the structural pressures on British steelmakers. The director general was emphatic that individual commercial wins cannot substitute for energy cost parity and stronger import safeguards.
For MPs scrutinising the government’s management of British Steel, the contract raises as many questions as it answers. Is this the beginning of a genuine commercial turnaround? Or is the plant’s loss-making nature so entrenched that even a series of major contracts like this one will not be enough? And what exactly is the long-term plan?
Those questions have yet to be answered. What is clear is that British Steel has demonstrated it can compete internationally, win prestigious contracts, and generate employment. The challenge now is to build on that into something genuinely sustainable — and to do it before the cost to the public purse becomes politically untenable.
