The contract could see Tata Steel, which employs 18,500 people in the UK, supplying more than a million tonnes of rail, including premium products such as 1HPrail?, for Britain's passenger and freight lines.

Henrik Adam, Chief Commercial Officer of Tata Steel, said: "This is fantastic news. I am delighted the rail network in Britain will continue to be made and maintained with our UK rail.

"This contract win has been made possible by our continued drive to be more customer focused. By working closely with Network Rail, by learning from them and by developing the products and services they need, Tata Steel has shown the benefits this close working relationship can bring."

Every day more than three million people in Britain travel on trains which run on high-quality rail developed and made in Scunthorpe. The British rail network carries 1.5 billion passengers every year - more than at any time in over 60 years.

Network Rail's Group Finance Director, Patrick Butcher, said: "We are renewing and enhancing more and more of Britain's railway over the next five years and it's crucial that we have a trusted and secure supply chain to help us achieve that safely and efficiently.

"It seems obvious, but rails are at the root of everything we do and this contract secures everything we need to keep improving the network."

Since 2000 more than ?160 million has been invested in Tata Steel's advanced rail manufacturing facilities at its Scunthorpe site to enable it to produce the 216-metre long rail customers want. Alongside this investment Tata Steel has transformed the manufacturing logistics to handle the new long rail products required by customers such as Network Rail.

Henrik Adam added: "This contract is a clear demonstration of the contribution foundation industries like steel make towards rebalancing the British economy. We are supporting high-skilled manufacturing jobs, developing innovative new products and services - and we are helping to build infrastructure for the 21st century."

The latest Network Rail deal will account for around 5% of the annual steel output from Tata Steel's Scunthorpe site.