India builds world's highest rail bridge over river Chenab

New Delhi: Touted as the next man-made wonder, the world's highest rail bridge being built across Chenab riverbed in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir will take at least three more years to be functional. When completed in 2016, the 1.3-km railway bridge will soar 359 meters above the river bed, 19 meters higher than France's Tarn River bridge. It is an arch bridge under construction. It spans the Chenab River between Bakkal and Kauri. The bridge is part of several bridges and tunnels which makes up the Katra-Laole Section of the USBRL Project in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chenab Bridge was originally scheduled to be completed in December 2009. However, in September 2008 it was announced that the Chenab bridge had been cancelled due to fears over its stability and safety. Railway officials say the bridge, which is five times higher than Delhi's Qutub Minar and far taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, will be completed by December 2016. The arched structure will connect Baramulla to Jammu via Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours. Currently, it takes exactly double the time - 13 hours - to reach Jammu from Baramulla in northern Kashmir, which is 60km from Srinagar. This section alone will cost around Indian Rs5, 005 crore, Indian media reported. Konkan Railway Corporation, with experience of building 179 major bridges on the path-breaking rail link through the Konkan region, is executing this particular section. The 1,315-metre bridge will use up 25,000 million tons of steel and will be an engineering marvel. The world's tallest rail bridge is on France's Tarn River and its tallest pillar rises 340 meters while the actual height at which trains run on the bridge is 300 meters. Observing that wind speed at the height of 359 meters may go up to 266 km/h, the engineers have decided not to allow trains crossing the Chenab Bridge if the wind velocity is more than 90 km/h. The railways has designed the signaling system at the bridge in such a manner that it shows the stop light automatically when wind speed is more than 90 km/h.Considering the inaccessible terrain of the Himalayan mountains the bridge will get a special coat of paint with a life span of around 35 years to protect it from the tough weather. Besides the steep topography and fragile geology, engineers constructing the Katra-Dharam line also have to factor in security concerns. While Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force provide security to engineers and workers implementing the project, the support of locals is coming in handy. The railways have constructed a helipad to transport construction material and equipment. For the 73-km section which involves construction of 63 km of tunnels and 7.5 km of bridges, Konkan Railways is constructing 176 km of roads to access the project sites. Railways has already constructed 104 km of roads which is giving connectivity to remote villages which were till now inaccessible. Whenever the Chenab bridge is finally completed, it will be more than just another bridge but a prestigious symbol of how far India and its railway engineers have come since the country's first mile of railway track became operational more than 150 years ago.