Chenab Rail Bridge
The Chenab Rail Bridge is a steel and concrete arch bridge carrying a single-track railway line, located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The bridge spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, making it the world's highest rail bridge. In November 2017, the base supports were declared completed allowing for the start of the construction of the main arch. The bridge was fully completed and was inaugurated in August 2022.
Chenab Rail Bridge | |
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Chenab Railway Arch bridge in Reasi district, J&K, India in 2023 | |
| Coordinates | 33°9′3″N 74°52′59″E |
| Carries | Indian Railways |
| Crosses | Chenab River between Bakkal and Kauri |
| Maintained by | Northern Railways |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Steel and Concrete |
| Total length | 1,315 m (4,314 ft) |
| Height | (river bed to formation) 359 m (1,178 ft) |
| Longest span | 467 m (1,532 ft) |
| No. of spans | 17 |
| History | |
| Designer | Konkan Railway, Afcons Infrastructure & DRDO |
| Constructed by | Afcons Infrastructure |
| Opening | December 2022 |
| Inaugurated | 13 August 2022 |
| Location | |
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In April 2021, the Chenab Rail Bridge's arch was completed and the overall bridge was completed in August 2022. It was expected to open to rail traffic by December 2023 or by January/February 2024 but has been rescheduled to July.
Key technical data of the bridge include:
- Deck height: above river bed - 359 m (1,178 ft), above river surface - 322 m (1,056 ft)
- Bridge length: 1,315 m (4,314 ft), including the 650 m (2,130 ft) long viaduct on the northern side
- Arch span: 467 m (1,532 ft)
- Arch length: 480 m (1,570 ft)
This makes the Chenab Rail Bridge:
- The world's 16th highest bridge
- The world's 11th longest arch bridge
- The bridge with the longest span in the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge railway network