Bridge To Kashmir: All You Need To Know About The World's Highest Railway Bridge

The world's highest railway bridge is currently under construction in Jammu and Kashmir and when complete will be 35-metres taller than the Eiffel tower.

Updated: Thursday, May 4, 2017, 16:00 [IST]

Indian Railways is currently building a bridge over the river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir that when complete will be the highest railway bridge in the world. So before it opens in a few years time, let's take a look at the bridge and see what makes it so special.

The new single-span bridge over the Chenab is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project and will connect Jammu's Katra and Kauri in the Srinagar district.

When complete in 2019, the new bridge will the highest railway bridge in the world standing 359 metres above the waters of the Chenab river. The current record holder is the 275-metre tall Shuibai Railway bridge in China

The new bridge will be 35-metres taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris and will have used up 24,000 tonnes of steel when it is finally opened up for trains in 2019

The new bridge will be 1.3-kilometres long and is being constructed at a cost of Rs 1,110 crores.

To ensure the engineering marvel doesn't fall prey to terrorists, the bridge will use 63mm thick blast-proof steel while the concrete pillars will be designed to be bomb proof.

The pillars will be painted with a special corrosion-proof paint that lasts for 15 years. The bridge will be able to resist extremely low temperatures and high wind speeds as well.

To keep the bridge and the passengers on the trains are safe, the government will install a ring of aerial security to safeguard the bridge. An online monitoring and warning system will also be installed on the bridge.

The Railways will also install sensors on the bridge to check wind speed and if speed exceeds 90km/h, the signal on the track will turn red.

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