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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.[4][5] 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 and the world's highest arch bridge.[6][7] The bridge was fully completed and was inaugurated in August 2022.[3] It is built between the Sangaldan Railway Station and the Reasi Railway Station.

In November 2017, the base supports were declared completed allowing for the start of the construction of the main arch.[8] 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.[9][10]

On February 20, 2024, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi officially launched the USBRL project, which encompasses the 48.1 km Banihal-Sangaldan section.[11] The Chenab Rail Bridge in Reasi district will soon see trains running on it.

In June 2024, the first full trial run on the bridge happened.[12]

Technical data

Key technical data of the bridge include:[13]

This makes the Chenab Rail Bridge:

Introduction and topography

Northern Railway has undertaken the megaproject of constructing a new railway line across the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir between the towns of Udhampur near Jammu and Baramulla on the northwestern edge of the Kashmir Valley. This project was declared a national project in 2004.[16] It is directed by the Northern Railway.

The extraordinary challenge lies in a large number of tunnels (totaling 63 km in length[17]) and bridges (7.5 km) to be implemented in highly rugged and mountainous terrain, with the difficult Himalayan geology. The most difficult part is believed to be the crossing of the deep gorge of the Chenab River, near Salal Hydro Power Dam,[18] by the Chenab Bridge.

The engineering marvel lies in the seismic zone IV, and can withstand earthquakes up to a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale, high-intensity blasts, and winds up to speeds of 260 kilometre per hour.[19]

Another, smaller, arch bridge proposed on the new railway line was the 657 m (2,156 ft) long, 189 m (620 ft) high Anji Khad Bridge between Katra and Reasi over the Chenab river tributary river. This proposal was abandoned by the railway due to the specific geology of the location and a cable-stayed bridge is proposed, which will be Indian Railways first cable-stayed bridge.

Design

After many deliberations, taking into account aesthetics, economy, and availability of local expertise and construction materials, the Chenab Rail Bridge was designed as a large span single arch steel bridge with approach viaducts on either side. The arch is two-ribbed, fabricated from large steel trusses. The chords of the trusses are sealed steel boxes, internally stiffened and filled with concrete to assist in controlling wind-induced forces on the bridge. Another advantage of concrete filling is that internal painting will not be required.

The number of bearings has been minimized, particularly on the approach viaduct, through the use of continuous construction. This is advantageous, as it reduces the maintenance and inspection efforts, and improves the riding quality. The viaduct piers are of concrete, while the piers near the arch are Indian construction standards such as the Indian Railway Standards (IRS), the Indian Road Congress (IRC) and the Indian Standards (IS) were found inadequate for the large spans of the Chenab Bridge. For example, the Indian Railway Standards (IRS) is primarily intended for simply supported bridges with spans up to 100m (although these have been successfully used for higher spans up to 154m). The spans for the Chenab Rail Bridge greatly exceed this limit, and are continuous. Therefore, to assure a safe design, Indian national standards have been supplemented with International standards such as British Standards (BS), International Union of Railways (UIC) and Euro. Also, many global experts with versatile and relevant experience, have been involved in order to facilitate making the project a success.

Following are some of the design considerations taken into account:

The quality aspect has been emphasized, as the quantum of fabrication and welding is colossal. Mostly indigenous material compliant to IS codes has been planned to be used, whereas for the design, international codes have been referred, which means the Quality Control work is still difficult.

Construction

Aerial view of Chenab Bridge during the construction of Arch

The Chenab Rail Bridge was originally intended to be completed in December 2009.[20] However, in September 2008, the project was halted due to fears over the bridge's stability and safety.[21] Work on the bridge restarted in 2010,[22] with the plan to complete it in 2015.[23]

The design and construction was awarded to Afcons Infrastructure,[24] a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the third-largest construction group in India, with the help of IISc Bangalore. Major construction decisions were taken by Konkan Railway Corporation. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) helped in the design of the bridge, making it blast-proof using special steel.[25]

The erection scheme for the bridge is a project in itself. Two pylons (about 130 m and 100 m high) were erected on either side of the river, and two auxiliary self-propelled cable cranes (capacity of 20 tonnes each) were used to tow temporary auxiliary ropes across these pylons. The ropes were used to support the partly finished arch parts. After arch completion, the trusses will be added, finally the girder will be constructed as a horizontal sliding type platform.

Project status

Maintenance

Regular painting of large bridges is an intimidating task; hence, a painting scheme was developed, having renewal of over 15 years, compared to approx. 5 to 7 years in most other Indian railway bridges.[41]

See also

References

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  3. ^ a b "Chenab Bridge, World's Highest Rail Bridge Taller Than Eiffel Tower, Inaugurated Today | All You Need to Know". India.com. 13 August 2022. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Quixplained: Chenab arch bridge which will connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari". Indian Express. 7 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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  13. ^ Narayan, Laxmi (March 2006). "TECHNICAL PAPER ON ANJI KHAD AND CHENAB BRIDGES" (PDF). Advances in Bridge Engineering: 101–114. Retrieved 14 January 2008. [dead link]
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  37. ^ "Track-laying work on world's highest railway bridge starts". 21 February 2023.
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External links