Indian Railways completes arch closure of Chenab Bridge, World's Highest Railway Bridge

Arch closure of Chenab Bridge, World’s Highest Railway Bridge

Indian Railways completes arch closure of Chenab Bridge. Indian engineers created history on Monday by completing the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge on Chenab river in J&K, which is 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in France. The completion of the blast proof arch now paves the way for expediting the direct rail link to the Valley from the rest of India.  Officials said this was the most challenging project the Railways had ever undertaken and the most critical portion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, whose construction started in 2004.

Ashutosh Gangal, general manger of Northern Railway, said what currently takes 12 hours by road (Katra-Banihal), will take half the time after completion of the bridge. He said bridge is likely to be completed in a year and the entire rail link would be completed in two and a half years. The arch consists of steel boxes in which concrete will be filled to improve stability while the stay cables which are presently holding the arch will be removed.He also said the overall weight of the arch is 10,619 metric tonnes and the arch work was done by overhead cable cranes  for the first time by Indian Railways.

Indian Railways completes arch closure of Chenab Bridge, World’s Highest Railway Bridge

Railways said that this achievement is a major leap towards the completion of the 111 km long winding stretch from Katra to Banihal. “It is arguably the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history,” the Ministry of Railways said in a press release.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Chenab Arch Bridge:

1. Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, is 1315 m long. It will be 35 meters higher than Eiffel Tower in Paris

   

2. The preparations of the rail link began in 2002 and the initial plan was to connect Kashmir’s northernmost city Baramulla to New Delhi.

3. Work on the bridge started again in July 2017 with the aim of completing the construction by the end of 2019 but due to contractual issues in 2018, it was delayed. The corona virus pandemic also added to the delay in the construction of the project and the revised guideline for the completion of the project has now been for December 2021

4. The bridge is part of an ambitious 272-km rail link project and is being constructed by the Northern Railway at an estimated cost of ₹28,000 core.

5. The total cost of the Chenab bridge is estimated to be Rs 1486 core and the design life of the bridge is said to be 120 years.

6. The World’s Highest Railway Bridge  designed to withstand high wind speed up to 266 km/hour. It is also designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO for the first time in India.

7. The Railways said that the Bridge will remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 km/hour even after the removal of one pier/trestle. It can also bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V in India.

8. The bridge will be able to withstand earthquakes with a magnitude of up to eight and high-intensity blasts.

9. The bridge will provide the much-needed all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the county. The bottom ends of the main arch have already beenconnected, after which the upper arch will now be completed and the two will now be closed. The next step would be the laying of the tracks.

10. The bridge, which will include a 14-metre dual carriageway and a 1.2-metre-wide central verge, will have a design speed of around 100 kilometres per hour with a lifespan of 120 years.

11. According to the Ministry of Railways, the completion of the steel arch of the Chenab Bridge was one of the most difficult parts of the bridge.

12. The 5.6-metre last piece of metal fitted at the highest point on Monday and joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both the banks of the river. This reportedly completed the shape of the arch that will then loom over the treacherous Chenab, flowing over 359 metres below.

13. After completion of the arch work, removal of the stay cables, filling of the concrete in the arch rib, erection of the steel trestle, launching of the viaduct and track laying work will be taken up.

    

14. Steel used specifically chosen for the construction of the bridge as it will make the project more economical. The metal will also be able to resist temperatures of minus 20 degree Celsius and wind speeds of above 200 kilometre per hour

15. Indian Railways completes arch closure of Chenab Bridge on  Monday (April 5, 2021)

Click here to see the construction Video

News courtesy : Hindustan times, Zee news, Times of India