India will soon open the world's highest railway-arch bridge over the Chenab river in Kashmir for rail traffic. Chenab Rail Bridge is an Indian railway steel and concrete arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
When completed, the bridge will span the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, which is 35 meters taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower.
Constructed for ₹1,486 crore, the Chenab bridge aims to boost connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. According to the Ministry of Railways, it is said to be the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
Chenab Railway Bridge: Key features
The bridge has a total length of 473.25 metres, while the length of the viaduct is 120 metres and the central embankment 94.25 metres, according to officials, adding it is supported by 96 cables.
Chenab Bridge weight: The overall weight of the arch is 10,619 MT.
Chenab Bridge designers: Viaduct & Foundations: M/s WSP (Finland); Arch: M/s Leonhart, Andra and Partners (Germany), and Foundation Protection: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore.
Construction of the bridge involved fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 lakh cum Earthwork, 66,000 cum concrete, and 26 Km motorable roads.
The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software used for structural detailing.
Chenab Railway Bridge: Unique Features
The bridge is designed to withstand high wind speed up to 266 Km/hour.
The Chenab bridge is designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO for the first time in India.
It will remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 Km/hour even after the removal of one pier/trestle.
In the first, a Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing machine was used for testing welds in an Indian Railways project.
Approx. 584Km welding was done to join the different parts of the structure, which is to the tune of the distance between Jammu Tawi to New Delhi.
The height of the cable crane’s pylon at Srinagar End is 127 metre, which is much taller than Qutub Minar of 72 metre.
