Abstract: Steel railroad rails including carbon, manganese, silicon and greater than 0.45 wt % to 1 wt % copper are provided having greater hardness and yield strength than standard steel rails containing less than 0.45 wt % copper. As an example, the ultimate tensile strength of the steel rails is from 1170 MPa to 1725 MPa. As an additional example, the hardness of the steel rails measured 2 mm from the running surface of the rail is from 35 to 50 on the Rockwell C scale.