Chenab Bridge : Indian Railways Build the World's Highest Railway Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir

Indian Railways is managing the 4th largest network in the world and it is connected through all over the corner throughout the whole country, with employing more than 1 million people. Indian Railways is ready to do another wonder by connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the railway system.

Jammu and Kashmir are situated in the extreme north of India with very little excess to the services from throughout the country due to lack of transportation. The Indian government has been working on various projects to provide Jammu and Kashmir a reliable railway network.

In 2002, USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail link) project was passed as national projects constructing tunnels, railroads, and bridges through very hard and challenging roads of Jammu and Kashmir. The Northern railway is operating the mega project of construction of railway line across the Jammu and Kashmir.

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Chenab Bridge - World's Tallest railway bridge by Indian Railway Jammu & Kashmir

The main technical data of the bridge include:

• Bridge height (height above the river bed): 359 m (1,178 feet), (height above the river surface): 322 m (1,056 feet)
• Bridge length: 1,315 m (4,314 ft) including the 650 m (2,130 ft) viaduct on the north side
• Arch span: 467 m (1,532 ft)
• Arch length: 480 m (1,570 ft)
• Crosses : Chenab River between Bakkal and Kauri in Reasi district

The Chenab bridge is about 359 m high and connecting between Bakkal and Kauri in Reasi district, this is going to be the world’s highest rail bridge. This is designed in Arch Bridge over the Chenab river from steel and concrete. The bridge is 35 m higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Chenab River is a major river of Jammu and Kashmir flows through the Jammu region to the plains of Pakistan. The bridge is rapidly being constructed and river flow is not being distributed at all.

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Construction timeline of Chenab Bridge:

The Chenab Bridge was planned to be constructed by December 2009 but the project was halted in 2008 due to issues with stability and safety of the bridge.

• In 2010 the work was restarted but again disrupted after arch completion.
• In 2017 construction work resumed and by 2019, November 83% of work is completed.
• By 2021, March the bridge is to be opened and well functioned.

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The Infrastructure of Chenab Bridge:

The construction of bridge was given to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, which is a part of the ShapoorjiPallonji Group, the third-largest construction group in India.

The bridge is designed to withstand speed up to 260 kmph. The bridge has 17 arch span and its length is 480 m. This will make the bridge with the widest span in the Indian Board gauge railway network. The bridge length is 1,315 m and deck height is 359 m above the river surface. The bridge will have a railway station at both its terminal.

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Facts you need to know about Chenab Bridge:

• The bridge is located 49 km North from Jammu.
• The bridge has a total 17 span and the main arch span is 467m.
• The length of the bridge is 1,315 m and the height is 359 m, which is going to the world’s highest bridge.
• It is made up of approximately 25,000 tons of steel.
• Railways are going to install sensors on the bridge to check wind velocity. By any chance it exceeds 90 kmph, the train movement will be stopped.
• The bridge is approximately to have 120 years of life span.
• The bridge is designed to withstand any major terrorist blast and special 63 mm- thick steel is being used to ensure that, the region is a terrorist- prone, so these measures have to be taken.
• The consultant to design the bridge are from Finland and Germany.
• The bridge can withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, as the valley is an earthquake-prone area.

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