• 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.

• A key impact of the bridge will be in enhancing connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar. With the Vande Bharat Express running over it, travel time between Katra and Srinagar will come down to just about three hours, reducing the existing journey by two to three hours.

• PM Modi also inaugurated India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge over the river Anji.

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

Chenab rail bridge

• 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.

• This steel arch structure is a key part of the Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link and marks a significant milestone in Indian engineering.

• Designed to endure harsh terrain and extreme weather, the bridge can withstand wind speeds of up to 260 kilometres per hour and is built to last 120 years.

• Before the construction, 26 km of approach roads and a 400-metre-long tunnel were built to reach the site.

• 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 arch closure ceremony was conducted in April 2021, while the other major milestone was the ‘Golden Joint’ of the deck. The 785-metre-long deck superstructure was launched from both Kauri and Bakkal ends and was finally joined over the arch.

• The Golden Joint ceremony was conducted on August 13, 2022.

Anji bridge

• The Anji Khad Bridge rises boldly across the rugged Himalayan terrain, standing as India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. 

• It spans the deep Anji River valley, south of the Chenab, connecting the Katra Banihal section of the Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Line.

• The Anji bridge is the second-highest railway bridge after the iconic arch bridge over the Chenab at nearby Kauri.

• In October 2016, the railway decided to build a cable-stayed bridge at Anji Khad after the plan to build an arch bridge similar to the Chenab bridge was abandoned due to the vulnerability of the structure, primarily due to concerns over the geological stability of the region.

• This asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crosses the deep gorges of the Anji river, a tributary of the Chenab river, and is located in the young fold mountains of the Himalayas, having extremely complex, fragile and daunting geological features in the form of faults, folds and thrusts and besides seismic proneness of the region.

• About 80 kilometres from Jammu city, the bridge is set against a striking backdrop of snow-covered peaks. 

• Towering 331 metres above the riverbed and stretching 725 metres across, it is anchored by 96 high tensile cables. 

• At its heart stands an inverted Y-shaped pylon that climbs 193 metres above its foundation. 

• The total length of cable strand used in the bridge is an impressive 653 kilometres. Remarkably, the entire structure was completed in just 11 months.

• It consists of an ancillary viaduct, an approach bridge and a central embankment.

• It has been designed to handle heavy storms, strong winds and even explosions.

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