Chenab Bridge: World’s Highest Rail Bridge Set to Complete Big Engineering Milestone

Chenab bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, is all set to complete an important construction milestone by March 2021. As part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL), Indian Railways is constructing a bridge over the Chenab river. The Chenab bridge is being made at a height of 359 metres above the river bed – making it the highest railway bridge in the world. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has tweeted an image of the Chenab bridge stating that the steel arch of the bridge is nearing closure.
According to Deepak Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railway, the arch closure will be complete by March 2021. “Chenab bridge is expected to be complete by year end,” Deepak Kumar said. The railway bridge is being built to cross the deep gorge, and the main arch has a span length of 467 metres, which Indian Railways claims is the largest in the country. Once the arch is complete, viaduct and track laying work will start, learns TOI.

Chenab bridge salient facts:

• At 359 metres height above the river bed, Chenab bridge will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel tower.
• Chenab bridge will be 1.315 kilometres long. It will have stations at both the ends.
• The Chenab bridge will be an engineering marvel – it has already missed several deadlines for completion owing to challenging terrain in young fold mountains of Himalayas and inclement climate.
• The bridge has been built in an earthquake prone Seismic Zone IV. The seismic analysis for the project has been carried out by various IITs. The bridge has been designed to withstand earthquake forces up to Seismic Zone V.
• Given the fact that the area is prone to terrorist attacks the Chenab bridge has been designed to be “blast-proof” in consultation with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The bridge will have a design speed of 100 kilometres per hour and a lifespan of 120 years.
• Chenab bridge is made up of steel arches and the slopes of the mountains supporting the foundations of the main arch have been stabilised. Since the bridge is over a very deep gorge, wind will have a very significant effect on the stability of the bridge.
• Modern wind tunnel tests were performed in Denmark to finalise the design. The bridge will be able to withstand wind velocity up to 266 kmph.

Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project:

The USBRL is a 272 kilometres long railway link project being built at a cost of Rs 28,000 crore under the Northern Railway zone. The project will connect Kashmir to the rest of India and is expected to be completed by 2022. Out of 272 kilometres, the Quazigund-Baramulla (118 kms) and Banihal-Quazigund (18 kms) and Udhampur-Katra (25 kms) sections have already been commissioned. The Katra-Banihal section which is 111 kilometres long is under construction.
Apart from the Chenab bridge, the USBRL rail link will also have India’s longest railway tunnel (T-49) at 12.75 kilometres. Pirpanjal tunnel (11.215 kms), the longest rail tunnel as of date, is also part of the USBRL project and has already been commissioned. Yet another engineering marvel under construction is the Anji bridge which will be the first cable-stayed bridge of Indian Railways. The bridge is being constructed over Anjikhad, a tributary of Chenab river.

Source: ToI