Chenab rail bridge: An engineering marvel that opens to the magical valleys of Kashmir

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If your dreams are sky-high, then there should be a bridge to connect them with reality. The dreamy landscapes of Kashmir have been largely unexplored due to a lack of proper transport facilities. However, human ingenuity and spectacular engineering skills now connect the dreamy Kashmir valley to the rest of India. The Indian Railways has successfully conducted trail runs over the iconic Chenab bridge, the world’s highest arch bridge. Besides the rail bridge, a handful of engineering marvels will be opened as part of the Udhampur – Sri Nagar – Baramulla rail link project. Interestingly, this route boasts the country’s first railway cable bridge and the longest rail tunnel. Now, Kashmir can be easily accessed from anywhere in India via train.
The train on the snow
MEMU and DEMU trains run services from Baramulla, which is the northernmost railway station in India, to Sangaldan. Besides, express trains from various parts of India have services to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Kathra station in Jammu. Meanwhile, the new service will begin in the 63.88-kilometre stretch between these stations. This route has been developed as part of the Kathra – Banihal section. The Indian Railways is all set to open a magical door to its spectacular engineering marvels in the scenic paradise of Kashmir.
The fully electrified railway line passes through the areas that are covered in snow during January and February. The country will now get a unique express railway route where visitors can travel just to enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of the snow-covered valleys. Special locos that could sweep off snow from the tracks, too, have been arranged here. When the train runs from Kanyakumari in the south to Baramulla in the north, it would be a landmark event in the history of Indian Railways.
The Chenab bridge
Railway connectivity to Kashmir is impossible without crossing the Chenab River. The area between the scenic villages of Kauri and Bakkal in the Reasi district of Jammu Kashmir now assumes a prime position in the map of the magnificent Indian rail network. The majestic rail bridge towers over the sparkling green waters of the Chenab River as a permanent mark of Indian engineering prowess.
The Chenab rail bridge, which is the highest rail bridge in the country stands at an altitude higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. The bridge is built at 359 metres above the Chenab valley. Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower is 330 meters tall. The bridge, which is 1315 meters long, has been constructed on a whopping budget of Rs 1486 crore. Before the Chenab project began, a road was constructed, providing access to this area. The Railways built a 26-kilometre-long road and a 400-metre tunnel before constructing the bridge. However, the project that was flagged off in 2003 got stalled in 2008 due to safety concerns. The project was resumed in 2010. The construction of the bridge that began in 2017 was completed in 2023. The bridge is now commissioned and has completed trial runs too.
“Constructing the Chenab bridge was tantamount to building ten bridges. We were able to learn many lessons which could be useful for future constructions,” says RR Mallick, deputy chief engineer of the Konkan Rail Corporation Limited that was entrusted with the construction. Trains could accelerate up to 100 kilometres on the bridge that has been constructed using 28,660 tons of steel in 17 spans. The technical advice of experts from IIT Delhi and Roorkee, the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bengaluru, DRDO and the Geological Survey of India was crucial in the project. Besides the Chenab bridge, the railway took up the construction of a 205-kilometre-long road in the area. Meanwhile, the railway hopes that the new road network will be an advantage to around 73 villages in the region. Two schools, too, have been built by the Railways as part of the project at Ramban district.
Anji River and the tunnels
Initially, the Railways had planned to build a bridge across the Anji River, a Chenab tributary. However, it was scrapped due to flaws in the design. Instead, India’s first rail cable bridge was built using 96 cables over the mighty Anji River. The Anji Khad rail bridge, which is 331 metres tall and 725 metres long, is between two tunnels. A real-time motoring room has been set up beneath this bridge. Sujay Kumar, deputy chief engineer of the Konkan Rail Corporation Limited, said that the bridge would be monitored 24/7 by considering 16 cables as one unit.
The water bomb
Tunnel number 33 at the valley of the Trikuta mountain, where the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple is located, had posed quite a challenge to the Railways that were swiftly completing the construction of the Chenab and Anji bridges. There were three water bodies between the rock formations here. The railway faced a dilemma as the water would have submerged the nearby areas if the rocks were blasted. Finally, the water was drained by creating small cracks in the rocks while the constriction of the bridge progressed. On December 13, 2024, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw declared, “History has been created! The Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla rail link has been completed. The track construction in tunnel 33 has been successfully completed.”
From Kerala to Kashmir
Tourists from Kerala could travel directly to Kashmir when the Himasagar Express from Kanyakumari to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Kathra is extended to Baramulla. The total length of the Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla link project is 272 kilometres. The railway lines from Kathra to Qazigund in the Anantnag district pass almost completely through tunnels and bridges. The 12.75-kilometre-long tunnel 49 between Sumber and Arpinchala is India’s longest rail tunnel. Meanwhile, the Pir Panjal tunnel, which is 11.2 kilometres long and connects Jammu and Kashmir, is another engineering marvel in this area. These extensive rail projects would make the train journey from Qazigund, which is known as the gateway of Kashmir, to Baramulla, through the beautiful valleys of Kashmir, an unforgettable and unique experience.