India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge over Anji river is set for final trials next month ahead of the Vande Bharat train’s Kashmir debut in January 2025.
In the run up to the first Vande Bharat train to Kashmir in January next year, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge over Anji river in Reasi district is all set for final trial runs next month, officials.
“A month ago we had a successful trial run of a locomotive. The final trial runs will be held next month and then the commissioner of railways Safety will have a final inspection on January 5,” said a senior Railways official.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the Vande Bharat Express connecting New Delhi to Kashmir in January 2025. The train will travel along the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) and cross the Chenab rail bridge, the world’s highest of its kind.
Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Tuesday reviewed work at the cable-stayed rail bridge over Anji river, a tributary of the Chenab river. The cable-stayed bridge, an engineering marvel, connects two mountains.
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Next to the world’s highest rail bridge over Chenab river in Reasi’s Kouri village, the cable-stayed rail bridge has 96 cables. The total length of cable strands is 653 km.
The bridge, part of the crucial USBRL railway project in Jammu and Kashmir was completed in 11 months.
The asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge balanced on the axis of a central pylon has been built in the challenging terrain of young fold mountains of Himalayas in extreme geographical conditions. “It has 96 cables and it has now connected Katra with Reasi, though trains are yet to be commissioned,” an official said.
The bridge with a total length of 725 m, which includes 473-m long asymmetric cable, stays balanced on the axis of a central pylon of height 193 m from the top of foundation, standing at a height of 331 m above the river bed. The bridge connects tunnel T2 on the Katra side and tunnel T3 on the Reasi side.
The cable-stayed bridge has a 290-m span on the north side (Katra Side) and a 183-m span on the south side (Reasi side). The bridge also has a single line railway track and a 3.75 m wide service road.
“The bridge is designed with a total 96 cables i.e. 48 cables each on lateral and central spans. The cables weigh 848.7 MT and the total length of cable strands involved is 653 km,” he informed.
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