Railways complete upper crown of iconic Chenab bridge
Jammu, Apr 5: The Indian Railways on Monday achieved yet another milestone by completing the final arch of the world’s highest railway bridge over river Chenab, here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video message said that this is a very proud moment for every Indian and the view of the bridge would fill every Indian’s heart with delight.
As the last segment was placed on the arch by a cable crane, the workmen on the bridge started chanting Vande Matram and shook hands with each other.
Officials present, told TNN, that this development will pave way for the completion of the long-overdue Kashmir rail track, enabling trains from Kanyakumari to reach Kashmir.
The bridge is said to be the highest in the world crossing the height of China’s Duge Bridge on the Beipan river.
The Chenab railway bridge, an engineering marvel, is 359m above the river bed level which connects Kashmir with the rest of the nation minimising the travelling time to Kashmir up to 5 hours.
The construction of the bridge took more than 10 years which is 1315m long connecting Bakkal and Kauri regions on both sides of the bridge.
The bridge can withstand the wind of speed up to 266 Km/hr and is designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO. The bridge can bear the earthquake tremors with the highest intensity of zone-V.
Notably, the aerial distance to Pakistan from the bridge is just 65 Km.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, CEO & Chairman of Railways Suneet Sharma, GM Northern Railway Ashutosh Gangal & other senior officials were present on the occasion.