New Dawn : Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurates World Highest Railway Bridge Over Chenab River in Jammu And Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab river, which was completed at a cost of Rs 1,486 crore in more than eight years.

The prime minister then walked on the bridge holding the tricolour.

As reported by PTI, After the Chenab bridge, Modi inaugurated India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge over the river Anji. Before the inauguration, Modi travelled in a rail engine coach to reach the spot.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were present on the occasion.

The architectural marvel Chenab rail bridge, situated at a height of 359 metres above the river and 35 metres higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, is a 1,315-metre-long steel arch bridge engineered to withstand seismic and wind conditions.

The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch from Katra to Banihal, and its construction was approved in 2002, but the work started only in 2017. Before the construction, 26 km of approach roads and a 400-metre-long tunnel were built to reach the site, railway officials said.

The cable crane was commissioned on August 31, 2013, for the erection of a steel arch, trestle and piers. In 2017, an incremental launch over a 2.74-degree circular and a transition curve of 268 metres length was successfully done for the first time in the Indian Railways.

Joining of the 467-metre-long arch span was the most critical activity, the officials said, adding precision was to be maintained so that both ends of the arch meet with no error to ensure a perfect fit of the last segment of the arch.