On 13 March, Ministry of Railways shared a video of the under-construction rail arch bridge over Chenab river in Kashmir, which, upon completion, would be the world’s highest rail bridge, 35 m higher than the Eiffel Tower in France.
The bridge is expected to be completed by December 2021.
A part of Indian Railways’ Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project, the bridge will form an important link in the 111-km long stretch between Katra and Banihal. The bridge will connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation.
Reportedly, Konkan Railway Chairman Sanjay Gupta said that the construction of this bridge has been the most challenging task when it comes to the Kashmir railway link project “undertaken in the 150-year-long history of Indian Railways.”
The features of the bridge are as follows:
- The bridge is 1315 m long and has an arch of 467 m.
- It will be the highest bridge in the world situated 359 m above the sea level.
- It is 35m higher than the renowned Eiffel Tower, and the height of the one steel pier on the main foundation is 131 m which is 72 m more than Delhi’s Qutub Minar.
- The bridge can withstand wind speeds of 266 km per hour.
- As many as 3200 people worked on construction of the bridge at one point.
- The design life of the bridge is estimated to be 120 years.
- It needed over 5,462 tonnes of steel for construction.
Regarding the progress of the construction, the railway ministry informed that the steel arch of Chenab bridge is now in the closure position.
Yesterday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted that the arch bottom of the Chenab bridge has been completed. “Next, the arch upper of the engineering marvel in making will be completed,” he added.