The Chenab Rail Bridge is an Indian railway steel and concrete arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. When completed, the bridge will span 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.
In April 2021 the Chenab Rail Bridge’s arch was completed and it is expected to open to rail traffic in December 2022.
Salient Features of the Arch of the iconic Chenab Bridge:
Indian Railways is constructing the iconic Arch Bridge on River Chenab as a part of the USBRL project to connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation.
This bridge is 1315m long.
This is the highest Railway Bridge in the world being 359m above the river bed level.
It will be 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris (France).
Construction of Bridge involved fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Cum Earthwork, 66,000 Cum Concrete and 26 Km motorable roads.
Arch consists of steel boxes. Concrete will be filled in boxes of the Arch to improve stability.
Overall weight of the Arch is 10,619 MT.
Erection of the members of arch by overhead cable cranes done for first time on Indian Railways.
The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software used for structural detailing.
Structural steel suitable for -10°C to 40°C temperature.
Certain features are tabulated below:
Client: Northern Railway.
Executing Agency: M/s Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
Cost of Bridge: 1486 Cr.
Contractor: M/s Chenab Bridge Project Undertaking [Ultra-AFCONS-VSL(JV)].
Total length of bridge: 1.315km.
Number of spans: 17 nos.
Length of Main arch span: 467m (linear); 550m (curvilinear).
Design life of the bridge: 120 years.
Design speed: 100 kmph.
Total Steel Fabrication: 28660 MT (approx).
Design wind speed: 266 kmph.
Designers:
Viaduct & Foundations: M/s WSP (Finland).
Arch: M/s Leonhart, Andra and Partners (Germany).
Foundation Protection: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore.
Proof Consultant:
Foundation & Foundation Protection: M/s URS, UK.
Superstructure of Viaduct & Arch: M/s COWI, UK.
Slope Stability Analysis: (Independent Consultant) M/s ITASCA, USA.
Slope Stability Analysis: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Seismic Analysis: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi & Roorkee.
Unique Features of This Bridge:
Bridge designed to withstand high wind speed up to 266 Km/Hour.
Bridge designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO for the first time in India.
Bridge will remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 Km/Hour even after removal of one pier/trestle.
Bridge designed to bear earthquake forces of highest intensity zone-V in India.
First time on Indian Railways, Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing machine used for testing of welds.
First time on Indian Railways, NABL accredited lab established at site for weld testing.
Approx. 584Km welding is done to join the different parts of the structure, which is to the tune of distance between Jammu Tawi to New Delhi.
Height of the cable crane’s pylon at Srinagar End is 127m, which is much taller than Qutub Minar of 72m.
Launch of curved viaduct portion done for first time on Indian Railways using End Launching Method.
Extensive health monitoring and warning systems planned through state of art instrumentation.
