Top 5 longest railway bridges in India

India has some of the best structured railway bridges in the world and it has helped India immensely in reaching out to the international market These railway bridges play a very important role in the economic development of the country.Here goes a list of the top 5 longest railway bridges in India:Vembanad Rail BridgeVembanad Rail Bridge in Kerala is the longest rail bridge in India with a total length of 4.62 km. It is dedicated solely for freight. It connects Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi.The bridge is built over the Vembanad Lake and passes through the 3 small islands.The construction of the bridge began in June 2007 and was completed on 31 March 2010.A total of 11,700 tonnes of reinforced steel, 58000 tonnes of cement, 99000 cubic metre of metal aggregates, 73500 cubic metre of sand, 127000 cubic metre of concrete work and 154308 cubic metre of earth work went into this project.The bridge was built by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., a Government of India Enterprise (RVNL).The bridge is constructed over pile foundations at 133 locations. The bridge comprises 231 girders, each weighing 220 tonnes. The bridge has 132 spans consisting of 33 spans of 20 m and 99 spans of 40 m which are made of PSC girders and cater to electric traction.This bridge lets only 15 trains to pass each day.Upper Son Bridge or Nehru SetuThe bridge is near Sasaram in Bihar on Kolkata-Delhi main line. It is 3.065km long and has 93 spans of 30.5m each.Built across the Son River, Nehru Setu connects Dehri-on-Son and Son Nagar. It was opened on 27 February 1900.National Highway-2 runs parallel to the Nehru Setu rail bridge.Godavari Arch BridgeBuild over the Godavari River at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, the bridge is 2.7 km long. It is a single Railway lane bridge replacing parallel running old Godavari bridge.The bridge is one of the longest span prestressed concrete arch bridge in Asia.It has been widely used to represent Rajahmundry in arts, media, and culture. It is one of the recognised symbols of Rajahmundry.The bridge is located in two channels, the Kovvur channel and the Rajahmundry channel, and hence the bridge is also known as the Kovvur-Rajahmundry Bridge.The bridge was built by the Hindustan Construction Company. It was designed by Bureau BBR, Switzerland, and checked by Leonard Andrea and Partners, Germany.Construction on the bridge began in 1991 and lasted till 1997. It was commissioned for passenger traffic in March 1997 and became fully operational for running trains from 2003.Pamban BridgeIt is a cantilever railway bridge and the second longest sea bridge in India after Bandra-Worli Sea Link. It is 2.065 km long.Built across the Palk Strait water body, the Pamban Bridge is also known as Rameshwaram bridge. It is located in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. It connects Rameswaram island to mainland of India.Opened in 1914, it was India's first sea bridge and was the longest sea bridge in India till 2010.On 24 February, 2014, the Pamban Bridge marked its 100th anniversary.It consists of 143 piers and the centre span is a Scherzer rolling type lift span.Second Mahanadi Rail BridgeThe Second Mahanadi Rail bridge is 2.1 km long railway bridge over Mahanadi river Cuttac, Odisha.It was built at a cost of Rs 120 crore and was commissioned in 2008.The bridge has been designed for a train speed of 160 km per hour.First Mahanadi bridge is located near Bhootmundei.