India completes arch of world’s highest railway bridge on Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir

Officials said this was the most challenging project the railways had ever undertaken and the most critical portion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, whose construction started in 2004. Ashutosh Gangal, general manager of Northern Railway, said what currently takes 12 hours by road (Katra-Banihal), will take half the time after completion of the bridge. He said the bridge is likely to be completed in a year and the entire rail link would be completed in two and a half years.

He said the arch consists of steel boxes in which concrete will be filled to improve stability while the stay cables which are presently holding the arch will be removed. He said the overall weight of the arch is 10,619 metric tonnes and the arch work was done by overhead cable cranes for the first time by Indian Railways.

The Railway Ministry said that the 5.6-metre last piece of metal (closure segment) was fitted at the highest point of the arch on April 5. It joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both banks of the Chenab, it said.

Talking about safety measures, Gangal said the bridge was designed for blast load in consultation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation. This is the first such design in the country and it can remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 kmph after removal of one pier or trestle, he said. The bridge is designed to withstand high wind speeds of up to 266 kmph and earthquake forces of highest intensity. For the first time, the Indian Railways used phased array ultrasonic machines and established a NABL-accredited lab at the site for weld testing, he said. "Approximately 584 kilometers of welding was done to join the different parts of the structure, which is to the tune of distance between Jammu Tawi to New Delhi," the ministry said.