Watch: Take a glimpse of the world’s highest railway bridge on Chenab river

The world’s highest railway bridge on the river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be operationalised by the end of this month, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after visiting it for an inspection this weekend.

The Chenab Bridge, is 1,178 feet above the riverbed underneath, making it the world’s highest railway bridge. The Chenab bridge has been constructed as a part of the ambitious project of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ which will connect Kashmir to the other states in the country, according to the video released by Indian Railways. This railway line shall also prove useful for the armed forces deployed in this geographically important region and also help boost tourism, as elaborated upon in the video. The bridge has a 2015 km long approach road and is designed to be earthquake resistant, according to the video posted by the Northern Railways.

This railway line shall also prove useful for the armed forces deployed in this geographically important region and also help boost tourism. (Express Photo)

The bridge, being built at around Rs 14,00 crore, is the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history. The bridge will be a major milestone in completing the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), also known as the Kashmir link. Currently, the railway link to Kashmir is basically a 25-km stretch of Udhampur to Katra, and 18 km of line from Banihal to Qazigund in the valley and after that a 118 Qazigund-Baramulla stretch. When the 111-km stretch is done, a train to Srinagar can reach all the way to Kanyakumari uninterrupted.

The bridge, being built at around Rs 14,00 crore, is the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India. (Express photo)