Tata in Scunthorpe are currently exporting rail to Libya which is rolled and processed at the towns steelworks. The Libyan rail contract was signed in November 2009 following a bidding process that had taken several months. The contract itself is to supply rail to build two railway lines in Libya. The first runs along the north coast of the country providing part of the rail link across the North of Africa to carry passenger traffic, plus a variety of freight such as agricultural products, cement, oil, and gas. The second runs north-south within Libya and would link iron-ore deposits in the Sabha area with a major steel mill on the coast at Misratah. In preparation for the new export rail contract to Libya, the Rail Service Centre (RSC) put on a visit for PD Port Services and ABP (Associated British Ports), who will handle the rails at Immingham Docks. The visit, which was organised by Transport and Shipping, was used to give the port stevedores an insight into the production process, quality, safety and handling methods used by Tata Steel in manufacturing rails. Over the next few months Immingham Docks will be actively involved in receiving and loading approximately 20,000 tonnes of rails for the Libyan railway project. The rails are safety critical products, the handling and storage of them must be done with great care. Experience from handling rails within the RSC means that it was best placed to advise the stevedores from Immingham on the most appropriate methods. It was thought best way to provide this insight was for the Immingham team to visit the Scunthorpe site to review the production process and work through best practice examples of handling and storage. There are about 25,000km of roads in Libya, 10 ports, and a lot of airports, but rail is missing, Libya has a population of about 5 million, but the majority live along the coast, most of the interior of Libya being desert Immingham docks will be receiving and loading 13,800 pieces of rail as part of this contract.