Anji Khad Bridge: Final Track Installation On India's First Cable-Stayed Rail Bridge To Begin In November

Indian railway authority has updated on the remarkable Anji Khad bridge. The final stage of track installation on this bridge is scheduled to commence next month, following the completion of meticulous fine-tuning tasks.

In a recent development, Shobhan Chaudhuri, the General Manager of the Northern Railway, undertook a comprehensive inspection of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla (USBRL) project, along with other concurrent railway initiatives within the Union Territory.

He was accompanied by a team of notable individuals, including Sandeep Gupta, CAO/USBRL, Anil Kumar Khandelwal, PED/Gati Shakti/Rly Bd, Sanjay Gupta, CMD/KRCL, RK Hegde, Director/KRCL, Manoj Akhouri, PCOM/NR, and several other senior officers dedicated to the USBRL Project and the Firozpur Division.

The Anji Khad bridge is a groundbreaking engineering marvel, being the first cable-stayed rail bridge in the country. It is poised to connect the serene valley with other parts of the nation through the railway network.

Recently, the railway authority achieved significant milestones in the construction of this bridge. This includes the completion of the Ancillary Viaduct, Central Embankment, and the final tensioning of cables.

The bridge has a single-line railway track and a 3.75 m wide service road.

The asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crosses the deep gorges of Anji River, a tributary of river Chenab. The bridge connects Tunnel T2 on the Katra side and Tunnel T3 on the Reasi side.

The total length of the bridge is 725 m which includes a 473 m long asymmetric cable-stayed bridge balanced on the axis of a central pylon of 193 m from the top of the foundation, standing at a height of 331 m above the river bed.

The cable stay bridge has a 290 m span on the north side (Katra side) and while 183 m span on the south side (Reasi side).

The strands for this bridge are specifically designed with 15.7 mm diameter and have three layers of protection.

The cable's length ranges between a minimum of 80 m up to 295 m as a maximum. The stay cables are composed of 31, 37 or 43 strands.

Anji cable stay bridge is designed with a total of 96 cables which means 48 cables each on lateral and central spans.

The cables weigh 848.7 MT and the total length of cable strands involved is 653 km.

This bridge holds a pivotal role within the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla (USBRL) railway project in Jammu and Kashmir.

Additionally, the General Manager conducted a thorough inspection of the awe-inspiring Chenab bridge by traversing it on a motor trolley, extending from the Bakkal end to the Kouri end, reports Financial Express.

This remarkable bridge, the world's highest railway bridge, gracefully spans the majestic Chenab River at an astonishing height of 359 meters (1,178 feet) above the river's surface.

To provide perspective, it stands 35 meters taller than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. The bridge is engineered to endure winds with speeds reaching up to 260 kilometres per hour and boasts an impressive projected lifespan of 120 years.