Jammu: First trail run on iconic Chenab Bridge on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link will be begins on Tuesday as Railways Authorities decide to run track mounted vehicles on the recently laid track to check the durability of world’s highest bridge.
Official sources said that Ashutosh Gangal, General Manager, Northern Railway is likely to witness the ceremony at Bakkal end of the bridge and show green flag to the mounted vehicles, which will run to its capacity for the next couple of days.
Sources said that after the successful trial the world’s highest railway bridge on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be ready by the third week of this month.
Once the work is over, it will be a major milestone in reaching the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), also known as the Kashmir link.
The bridge, being built at around Rs 1,400 crore, is the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
Once the 111-km stretch is done, a train to Srinagar can reach all the way to Kanyakumari uninterrupted. Recently, the authorities completed track laying work on the Chenab Bridge.
Earlier declared as a National Project in 2002, the project has a length of 272 Km from Baramulla to Udhampur, joining the valley with the rest of the country. While the 25 km long Udhampur – Katra section was commissioned in July 2014, the 118 km long Quazigund – Baramulla section was commissioned in October 2009. Similarly, the 118 km long Banihal – Quazigund section was commissioned in June 2013.
The bridge was built between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of the union territory. As per the Indian Railways, the bridge falls under seismic zone IV. While the construction of the bridge started in 2002, the bridge was hailed as a major step towards railway connectivity. While it also has a security set up against any possible terror attack, the bridge can withstand 8 magnitude earthquakes and high-intensity blasts.
Also, the world’s highest railway bridge on Chenab got its golden joints in August last year, paving the way for engineers to lay tracks. Around 300 engineers and 1,300 workers worked round the clock to build the bridge. The government awarded the construction of the bridge to M/S Chenab Bridge Project Undertaking, a joint venture between Afcons Infrastructure, VSL India and Ultra Construction and Engineering Company of South Korea.
The bridge was built at the total cost of Rs 27949 crores and has a length of 1315 metres. It is made of 28,660 metric tonnes of steel. The serviceable period of the bridge is close to 120 years.
Currently, the railway link to Kashmir is basically a 25-kilometer stretch of Udhampur to Katra, and 18 km of the line from Banihal to Qazigund in the valley and after that a 118 Qazigund-Baramulla stretch. These have been running for years.
