India shares ‘breathtaking’ photos of the world’s highest train bridge in Kashmir
The bridge is 35m higher than the Eiffel Tower, according to the ministry
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India's federal railways minister on Monday shared a photograph of the arch of the world's highest railway bridge located in the northern union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the union minister for railways, tweeted the photograph of the “engineering marvel” on Monday and wrote: “The world’s highest arch Chenab Bridge over the clouds.”
The photograph shows the towering Chenab bridge, constructed between the Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district, surrounded by mountains and clouds floating beneath it.
The 1,315m-long bridge is 359 metres above the river bed level and is being built to improve connectivity in the Kashmir valley. The bridge is touted as a crucial part of the 111km stretch between Katra and Banihal — part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla section of the railway project in Kashmir.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore (£123m), the project is also being hailed as the largest civil-engineering initiative taken up by Indian Railways.
The bridge reportedly has 17 spans, of which the 476m-long main steel arch portion is spread across the Chenab river. The railway project would have a “security setup” to throttle possible terror attacks and can withstand up to 8 magnitude earthquakes and high-intensity blasts, national daily Indian Express reported.
Other images shared by India's railway ministry offered a closer view of the lofty bridge nestled among the picturesque Himalayas.
Earlier in March 2021, former railway minister Piyush Goyal shared a video of the bridge when the construction of the arch bottom was completed.
He wrote: "In a historic moment, the arch bottom of the Chenab Bridge at night has been completed today. Next, the arch upper of the engineering marvel in making will be completed. It is all set to be the world’s highest railway bridge".
According to the ministry, the sophisticated “Tekla” software has been used for structural detailing of the arch and the steel is suitable for -10C to 40C.
The “mesmerising” photographs have won the hearts of Indians on social media, who called it “architectural brilliance at its best”.
The bridge is likely to open to railway traffic by December.
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