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Unparalleled feat: Indian Railways completes arch of world’s highest rail bridge
Indian Railways on Monday achieved an unparalleled feat when the 5
Indian Railways on Monday achieved an unparalleled feat when the 5.6-metre-long last piece of metal (a closure segment) was fitted at the highest point of the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge. The bridge runs over Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district. The bridge, which is 35-metre higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, is expected to be completed within a year, said Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal at the work site in Reasi.
“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,” Gangal added.
The final metal closure joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both banks of the Chenab.
The construction of the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge, which soars 359 metres above the bed of the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir, was completed on Monday.
The 1.3 kilometre-long bridge aims to boost connectivity to the Kashmir Valley and is being constructed at a cost of ₹1,486 crore as part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project.
Railway minister Piyush Goyal watched the lowering of the closure segment of the arch by cable crane through a video link from Delhi.
The Arch looms over Chenab, flowing 359 metres below.
“This was one of the most difficult parts of the bridge over Chenab. This achievement is a major leap towards the completion of the 111 km-long winding stretch from Katra to Banihal. It is arguably the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history,” Gangal said.
The 5.6-metre last piece of metal was fitted at the highest point Monday and joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both the banks of the river. With this, the shape of the arch got completed which will loom over the treacherous Chenab.
After the 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.
Indian Railways is constructing the iconic Arch Bridge on river Chenab as a part of the USBRL project to connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation. This bridge is about 1,315 meters long.
The construction of the bridge involved the fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 lakh cum earthwork, 66,000 cum concrete and 26 km motorable roads.
The sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software was used for its structural detailing and the structural steel is suitable for -10 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius temperature, he said.
