Indian Railways’ ambitious Udhampur-Baramulla-Srinagar train link project will connect rest of India with the beautiful Kashmir Valley and facilitate easy and all-weather movement of tourists and passengers. This train route will pass through some naturally stunning places including some extremely difficult to reach terrains. Its Katra-Banihal section is one such link.
Indian Railways is constructing Rail Bridge over Anji Khad. It will be India’s first cable-stay rail bridge which means it will be suspended on strong cables. Indian Railways is constructing a high pillar to support the cable suspension on both sides.
The construction of this bridge, will connect Katra with Reasi, in an extremely difficult terrain is an engineering marvel. From the bottom of Anji rivulet, this bridge will tower up to the dizzying height of 331 meter suspended on just one pillar. The Anji Khad bridge’s main portion will be 473.25 meter long while its total length is reported to be over 1,300 meters. Its viaduct is 120 meter long and it will be supported by 86 cables.
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Engineers working on this project call it one of the most challenging projects ever for the Indian Railways. The approach to this region is extremely difficult. The approach was constructed after conducting an aerial survey of the region. Mountainous roads were constructed so that man-power and raw material can reach this spot. Anji Khad passes through a deep valley making it difficult to reach there. Due to the constrain in space to make approach roads, especially for tunnel number T-2, engineers could only work from one end of it. Stabilising the slope was another big challenge.
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Anji Khad bridge is being constructed with latest technology and unique design to make it withstand high-speed winds or storms. It is considered a milestone project for the Indian Railways. Experts call it an engineering marvel due to the level of difficulties in its construction and the latest technologies used to overcome them. This bridge will connect the UT of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India and help in its tourism sector and economic development.
