Chenab bridge: All you need to know about World’s highest rail bridge

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New
Delhi,
Aug
13:
Considered
as
World’s
highest
rail
bridge,
the
golden
joint
of
the
Chenab
bridge
was
inaugurated
on
Saturday.
With
the
inauguration
of
the
bridge,
Srinagar
will
be
linked
to
the
rest
of
the
country
after
the
overarch
deck
on
the
world’s
highest
single-arch
railway
bridge
over
Chenab
River
will
be
launched.

Giving
details
to
ANI,
Sanjay
Gupta,
Chairman
and
MD,
Konkan
Railway
said,
“This
has
been
a
long
journey.
The
term
‘Golden
Joint’ was
coined
by
civil
engineers…
It’s
the
world’s
highest
railway
bridge.”

J&K:
World’s
tallest
railway
bridge
soon
over
river
Chenab

All
you
need
to
know
about
Chenab
Bridge:

• The
  unique
  Arch
  Bridge,
  which
  rests
  above
  River
  Chenab,
  has
  been
  constructed
  by
  the
  Indian
  Railways
  as
  part
  of
  the
  Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla
  Rail
  Link
  (USBRL)
  project
  that
  will
  link
  the
  Kashmir
  valley
  to
  the
  rest
  of
  India.

• Built
  at
  a
  height
  of
  359
  meters
  above
  the
  river
  bed
  level,
  the
  1314
  meters-long
  Chenab
  Bridge
  is
  the
  world’s
  highest
  railway
  bridge.

• Interestingly,
  the
  unique
  Arch
  of
  the
  bridge
  is
  around
  35
  meters
  higher
  than
  the
  Eiffel
  Tower
  in
  Paris.

• The
  Northern
  Railway,
  which
  is
  the
  northernmost
  zone
  of
  the
  Indian
  Railways,
  constructed
  the
  bridge
  at
  an
  estimated
  cost
  of
  around
  Rs
  1486
  Cr,
  with
  the
  design
  of
  the
  bridge
  reportedly
  being
  around
  120
  years.

• The
  bridge
  was
  constructed
  using
  28,660
  million
  tonnes
  of
  steel,
  with
  the
  alloy
  being
  specifically
  chosen
  to
  ensure
  that
  the
  railway
  project
  remained
  economical.

• Other
  than
  that,
  the
  bridge
  was
  built
  using
  10
  lakh
  cubic
  metre
  of
  earthwork,
  66,000
  cubic
  metre
  of
  concrete,
  and
  26
  kilometers
  of
  motorable
  roads.

• The
  Arch
  of
  the
  bridge,
  which
  weighs
  around
  10,619
  million
  tonnes,
  comprises
  steel
  boxes
  that
  have
  been
  filled
  with
  concrete
  to
  improve
  stability.

• The
  use
  of
  steel
  and
  other
  components
  makes
  the
  bridge
  capable
  of
  withstanding
  high
  wind
  speed
  of
  up
  to
  266
  km/hour.

• It
  has
  been
  designed
  for
  blast
  load
  in
  consultation
  with
  India’s
  premier
  research
  agency,
  Defence
  Research,
  and
  Development
  Organisation
  (DRDO).

• Moreover,
  the
  bridge
  will
  also
  be
  able
  to
  bear
  earthquake
  forces
  of
  the
  highest
  intensity
  zone-V
  in
  the
  country.