Indian Railways touches new heights! Completes arch closure of world's highest railway bridge

New Delhi, April 06: With an aim to connect Kashmir with the rest of the nation, the Indian Railways on Monday completed the construction of the arch of the world's highest railway bridge. With the completion of the last phase of the "engineering marvel", the Indian railways scripted history.

 

Yesterday, railways fitted the last piece of metal of 5.6 meters at the highest point and joined the arch’s two arms that stretch towards each other currently from both the river banks. The 1.3-kilometer-long bridge aims to boost connectivity to the Kashmir Valley and it is being constructed for ₹ 1,486 crores as part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project. The overall weight of Arch is 10,619 million tonnes. It involves the fabrication of 28,660 metric tonnes of steel, 10 lakh cum earthwork, 66,000 cum concrete, and 26 km motorable roads.

 

 

 

The iconic bridge is 1315 meters long and is the world’s highest railway bridge being 359 meters above the river bed level. The Arch of the Chenab Bridge will be 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

 

 

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal wrote, "A moment of pride for! The arch of Chenab bridge, connecting Kashmir to Kanyakumari has been completed. With an arch span of 467m, it is the world’s highest railway bridge. PM @NarendraModi Ji's vision to connect India has inspired the Railway family to scale new heights."

 

 

 

The ministry in a statement said that the bridge is designed for blast load in consultation with the DRDO for the first time in India and can withstand high wind speed up to 266 km per hour and bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V in India.

 

 

 

"It is a historic day for the Northern Railways and a milestone in the completion of the USBRL project, connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. The project will be completed within two and a half years," Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal said.

 

According to the railway ministry, "After completion of the arch work, removal of the stay cables, filling of the concrete in the arch rib, erection of the steel trestle, launching of the viaduct and track laying work will be taken up."

 

 

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also lauded the completion of the Arch closure of the Chenab Bridge. In a tweet, Modi said that the capability and trust of the countrymen are setting an example before the world. He added that this feat of construction does not only showcase the growing prowess of India in the field of modern engineering and technology but also is an example of changing work culture marked by the ethos of 'Sankalp Se Siddhi'.

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