Catch sight of India's first-ever cable-stayed rail bridge on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link. The Anji Khad bridge will connect Katra and Reasi section.
Railways shared breathtaking pictures of under-construction India's first-ever cable-stayed rail bridge, at the upcoming Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link in Jammu and Kashmir. The Anji Khad Bridge will connect the Katra-Reasi section at the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla route.
Anji Khad Bridge is situated over the Anji river. It will connect the Katra-Reasi section at the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla route. Railways shared photos saying, "An Engineering Marvel in the making! Catch sight of India's first-ever cable-stayed rail bridge..."
The Reasi yard station is built on high, rectangular, tapered hollow piers 105m in height, with the bridge spanning about 490m -- a structure made with 7,000 reinforcement steel and 6,700 million tonnes of structural steel. This is a milestone achievement on the USBRL project in Jammu and Kashmir.
Catch sight of India's first-ever cable-stayed rail bridge on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link.
The 272 km long Udhampur-Baramulla railway line project that would connect the two places through Jammu, passing through panoramic views of quaint mountainous towns, pristine river basins, and silent deodars.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line in Jammu and Kashmir will be a game-changer for the Union Territory and 80 per cent of the work on the project has been completed while the rest will be completed by 2023, Union Minister Darshana Jardosh had earlier said.
The railway line stands erected at a cost of Rs 28,000 crore. For now, the focus is on the strategic, intervening line of about 111 km between Katra and Banihal, which consists of many tunnels and escape tunnels.
The project is the highest altitude railway network in India -- defying gravity on the impossible terrain of the Pir Panjal mountain range.
The first proposal of bringing railways to Kashmir was made in 1898 by the Britishers, but their idea remained on paper.
Fast forward some 120 years, and India's dream of fully integrating with the Valley is finally tangible with the Kashmir Railway Project ready to join the Indian Railways canvas by 2023.
Making the fantasy a reality, it is the only railway line constructed in broad gauge on Indian mountains, daring to run the distance of 345 km over major earthquake-prone zones, while being exposed to extreme temperatures.
The arrangement of Kashmir railways is one of the greatest engineering challenges ever faced, only next to the China-Tibet railroad which crosses perpetually frozen ground and rises to more than 5,000m above sea level. In the case of Kashmir, the rail route owes its complexity to the dangerous rugged geography of the Himalayas.
While the Valley has an average height of 1,850m, the surrounding Pir Panjal range has an average elevation of 3,000m. The trains are fixed with a snow cutter system for clearing the snow on the track while the temperature in coaches is maintained at 20-degree Celsius during winter months.
The connectivity to this region is important for national security, prosperity, and socio-economic development. Many other major roadways projects are also underway in the Valley along with the railways -- all operating in mission mode to link the mountainous terrains, ravines, gorges, and river basins.
Modern Indian engineering made news a few days back when the arch of the world's highest railway bridge running 1,315 meters and standing at a height of 359m above the Chenab River bed was completed. It will allow the railways to cover maximum ground in the area.
The Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan to create a 'Future Ready' railway system by 2030. From the perspective of tourism, trade and commerce, and the economy in general, the people of J&K will be able to explore novel opportunities for business and employment.
The world's most advanced technologies are being used for the planning and construction of the Kashmir Railway Project. What makes it more exciting are the peculiar challenges specific to this region, for which many times new technologies had to be developed by experts in India and abroad to tackle the concerns.
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