NEW DELHI: The long wait to witness train running on the world’s highest rail bridge seems to be over as Indian Railways is gearing up for launching the regular service between Reasi and Sangaldan with efforts being undertaken to flag off the much-awaited service on August 15. The launching of the service, part of the Kashmir rail link project, entails a passenger can travel upto Baramulla in Kashmir from Reasi in Jammu, a significant achievement in the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
A challenging project involving topographically, geologically and tectonically, the project with long tunnels and highest bridge is a testimony of Make-in-India.
With the expected commissioning of the 46 km long electrified route, the Railways would cover a total 255 km out of 272 km USBRL project leaving just 17 km of route between Katra and Reasi to be completed.
After an extensive inspection of the newly constructed Chenab Bridge, world’s highest rail bridge, railways successfully conducted a trial run of a 8-coach MEMU train between Sangaldan in Ramban district and Reasi at a speed of 40 kmph last month.
Considered as a monumental stride towards the seamless integration of the Kashmir valley with Jammu, the running of trains on the Chenab Bridge aims to provide an alternative and a reliable transportation system to Jammu and Kashmir.
The train service is expected to foster social integration by facilitating easier movement of people and goods, thereby promoting cultural exchanges and regional development and boost to economic activities such as tourism and trade.
The ambitious USBRL project aims to link Kashmir with the rest of India, through a 272 km long rail route from Udhampur to Baramulla joining the Valley with the Indian Railways network.
The USBRL Project involves 38 Tunnels (combined length of 119Km), the longest Tunnel (T-49) having a length of 12.75 Km and is the country’s longest transportation tunnel. There are 927 nos. of Bridges (combined length of 13 Km).
These bridges include the iconic Chenab Bridge (Overall length 1315 m, arch span of 467 m and height of 359 m above river bed) which is around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower and is pegged to be the World’s highest arch railway bridge.
An engineering marvel, Chenab Bridge, is a steel and concrete arch bridge built to sustain 260 kmph wind speed and designed to bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity.
The USBRL project, including the 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan section, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024.–(Deccan Herald)
