An engineering marvel to link Kashmir Valley

World's tallest railway bridge on Chenab river

As the Kashmir valley is set to be connected by the railway line with rest of the country by the end of 2017, the work on the world’s tallest railway bridge on the mighty Chenab river, which is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower of France, is on at a full pace these days. Built at a height of 359 metres (1,177 feet) from the river bed level, the bridge will surpass the world’s current tallest railway bridge (275 metres) over the Beipanjiang in China’s Guizhou province and will be five times the height of Qutub Minar.

It is a part of the second leg of the ambitious Udha­mpur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway project.The Konkan Railway Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Railways, has taken up the project at a whopping cost of Rs 512 crore near the Salal Hydro Power Dam. Public Relations Officer (Northern Railways) R K Rana says the main arch span of the bridge will be 467 metres while its total length will be 1,315 metres. “There will be 17 spans in this bridge and it will have a total steel fabrication of 25,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

Located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu, the  bridge is being built in the seismic zone V due to which the Indian Railways has sought the help of experts from different countries to complete the project. As the deep Chenab river valley under the bridge is prone to high wind pressure risking its stability, special care has been taken so that the bridge can withstand a wind velocity of 220 km per hour at the deck level.

“In addition to the experts of Research Design Standards Organisation of Indian Railways, Konkan Railway Corporation, National Institute of Rock Mechanics, Kolar, IIT Roorkee and IISc, Bangalore, WRI, Trichy, experts have also been roped in from outside India,” Rana said.

Though the work on the bridge started more than a decade ago in 2002, safety and feasibility concerns saw the project halted in 2008 before being given green-signal again two years later. Under construction since March, 2007, the bridge was scheduled  for completion by December, 2010, but due to the suspension of the work and geological roadblocks, it is now expected to be ready by early 2016.

According to the engineers, the Chenab Bridge forms a massive steel arch, the first of its kind in India. As India has no codes or design guidance for such massive structures, experience has been drawn from similar projects worldwide and accordingly
design practices for the bridge are being followed, they say. The Norway-based Force Technology Laboratory conducted several wind tunnel tests to understand the effects of wind speed, static force coefficients and gust buffeting.

The engineers said the main arch is being erected using two cable cranes attached on either side of the river which are secured on enormous steel pylons. The 1,315-m-long bridge will use up to 25,000 tonnes of steel with some material being transported by helicopters due to the tough terrain, they said.

Authorities have taken not only natural disasters into consideration while designing the project, but  also the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir  as the state often witnesses terrorist attacks. To enhance safety and security, the bridge will be made of 63-mm-thick special blast-proof steel. The concrete pillars of the bridge are designed to withstand explosions.

Official sources said a ring of aerial security will be provided to safeguard the bridge and an online monitoring and warning system will be installed on the bridge to protect the passengers and train in critical conditions. Footpaths and cycle trails will be provided adjacent to it and the bridge will be painted with a special corrosion-resistant paint, which lasts for 15 years. The project is expected to be finished by March 2016 and will have a lifespan of 120 years. 

In 1897, during British era the first railway line from Jammu to Sialkot (now in Pakistan) was built. A year later the then Maharaja of J&K Pratap Singh explored the possibility of a railway line connecting Jammu with Srinagar. For various reasons, including complications with the British government and political frictions, this was put on hold.

After the partition of 1947, the Jammu-Sialkot Line was closed and Jammu got disconnected from the Indian Railways. A new line from Pathankot to Jammu had to be laid and it was proposed that this be extended to Srinagar. But the preliminary survey of the Pir Panjal mountain range quickly quashed the thought.

However, in 1983 the then prime minister Indira Gandhi kicked off the line from Jammu Tawi to Udhampur. An optimistic schedule of five years and a budget of Rs 50 crore were set. In 1994, then railway minister declared the need for a line to Baramulla and the Kashmir Valley. 

The line from Katra to Qazigund through the mountains still looked unattainable. In 2002, the NDA government declared the line a national project. On April 13, 2005, the 53 km-long Jammu-Udhampur line was inaugurated.

However, the project hit another roadblock in 2008 when the Railway Ministry ordered cancellation of the project on the existing alignment between Katra and Qazigund, citing  suspected geological instabilities. The Railway Board constituted a high-level committee to examine the feasibility and to rework the alignment through the Pir Panjal mountains. In June 2009, work on the section between Katra and Qazigund resumed after the committee approved the existing one with minor changes.

In October 2009, the 18-km long section from Anantnag to Qazigund was inaugurated by the prime minister. On July 4, this year, train journey on Udham­pur-Katra line was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The train was named “Shree Shakti Express.”The Kashmir Railway is perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in the subcontinent. The terrain passes through the Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems.