Track laying work begins on world's highest railway bridge in J&K's Reasi

The track laying work commenced on Tuesday on the Chenab railway bridge located 359 metres above the riverbed in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir officials saidThe 13kilometrelong bridge which is 35 metres higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris forms a crucial link in the 111km stretch from Katra to Banihal which is part of the Rs 21653 crore UdhampurSrinagarBaramulla Railway Link USBRL projectAnother milestone in USBRL Project Track laying work begins on Chenab Bridge Once completed this bridge will open up new possibilities for the remote regions of Jammu and Kashmir the Ministry of Railways tweetedThe base of the steel and concrete arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri 42 kms from Reasi town was completed in November 2017 allowing for the start of the construction of the main arch which was done in April 2021Another milestone on the bridge was achieved in August last year when the overarch deck of the bridge was completed with a Golden Joint paving way for the laying of the trackAlso read Maharashtra Young and old ericks a hit among all in MatheranAs per the officials the construction work on the bridge started in 2004 but had to be suspended in 200809 to consider the aspect of safety of rail passengers in view of frequent high velocity winds in the areaOnce completed the bridge will be able to withstand winds with speed up to 260 kmph and will have a lifespan of 120 years the officials saidBesides the highest railway bridge the USBRL project has many firsts like the longest railway tunnel having overall length of 1275 km first cablestayed bridge which when completed will be an engineering marvel of the 21st centuryOut of the total 272km USBRL project the 161km was commissioned in phases with the first phase 118km QazigundBaramulla section commissioned in October 2009 followed by 18km BanihalQazigund in June 2013 and 25km UdhampurKatra in July 2014The work on the project which is the most challenging railway infrastructure project being undertaken postindependence was started in 1997 and has missed several deadlines amid huge cost escalationsThe underconstruction 111km KatraBanihal section has a total of 37 bridges 26 major and 11 minor 35 tunnels with a length of 164 kms main 27 with 9764 km and eight escape tunnels with 6640 kmThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever