Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the world's highest Chenab rail bridge in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.The PM was accompanied by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Before the inauguration, the PM inspected the bridge and spoke to the engineers and the labourers, who turned the dream into a reality.The Chenab rail bridge is the architectural marvel; it is located at a height of 359 meters above the river, and is the world's highest railway arch bridge. It is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.The 1,315-metre-long steel arch bridge is built to withstand seismic and wind conditions. A key impact of the bridge will be in enhancing connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar.
Through the Vande Bharat train moving on the bridge, it will take just about 3 hours to travel between Katra and Srinagar, reducing existing travel time by 2-3 hours.The 272-km USBRL project is built at a cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, and includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges.The project establishes all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, aiming to transform regional mobility and drive socio-economic integration.
This is the first visit of the Prime Minister to J&K during ongoing Operation Sindoor and post April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians, including 25 tourists and a local were killed.
Of the total 272km of the USBRL project, 209km was commissioned in phases with the first one (118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section) commissioned in October 2009, followed by (18km) Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, (25km) Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and (48.1 km) Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February last year.
The work on the 46 km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a 17- km stretch between Reasi and Katra that was also completed in February-March this year. That led to the start of trial runs, including that of Vande Bharat.
The Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express will have features like a heating system, anti-spall layers, and automatic doors.
The train is designed to operate smoothly in cold weather, down to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat will run on the world’s highest railway arch bridge and Anji Bridge built on the Chenab in Reasi district.(UNI)
