World’s highest steel arch Chenab rail bridge to become a tourist spot

Located at a height of 359 meters, the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge built over the Chenab River surpasses the Eiffel Tower’s height by 35 meters. The bridge forms a key connection along the 111-kilometre stretch between Katra and Banihal.

The world’s highest steel arch rail bridge built over river Chenab in the Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir, is being developed as a tourist destination. The 1.3 km-long Chenab bridge rises 359 meters above the riverbed. The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris is 35 meters lower than this bridge.

The Chenab bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch from Katra to Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project. This Project involves 38 Tunnels having a combined length of 119 Km. The longest Tunnel (T-49), having a length of 12.75 Km., is the country’s longest transportation tunnel. 

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL), was declared a “National Project” in 2002.

The construction of the Chenab Bridge entails- the fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Cum Earthwork, 66,000 Cum Concrete and 26 Km of motorable roads. The arch consists of steel boxes. To increase stability, the boxes have been filled with concrete. The design life of the bridge is 120 years. It is designed to resist winds up to 266 Kmph. It is capable of withstanding earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V, in the country.

Chief Secretary A K Mehta, who visited the bridge site near Jyotipuram, 42 km from Reasi town said, “The district has a very good potential to attract many more people to its historic and natural places. It has many well-known sites such as Shiv Khori, Salal Dam and Bhimgarh Fort which offers it a huge opportunity to tap its potential by further developing these to bring them on the national tourism map.”