Breakthrough in connecting Kashmir with train
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 4: The work on the pylon of India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji Khad in Reasi district was completed today, officials said terming it a breakthrough in connecting Kashmir with rest of the country by train within the next couple of years.
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The Anji Khad bridge with a single pylon with a height of 331 meters above the river bed on the Rs 21653 crore Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) is a milestone project of the Indian Railways, the officials said.
“When I came here it was a major challenge for us to complete the work on the Pylon which is the lifeline of a bridge. The pylon is complete now and we are hopeful of constructing this engineering marvel within one year,” Project Manager, Hindustan Construction Company, Ajay Kumar Pasheen told reporters after the breakthrough.
He said the pylon is standing 191 meter from its foundation level. “All the phases of the pylon work stand completed and we are ready to move ahead to complete the bridge,” the project manager said.
Another engineer, who wished not to be named, said he joined the site at the beginning of the work in March 2017 and he is happy to be part of the country’s first cable-stayed railway bridge.
“It is the second highest railway bridge after the iconic arch bridge over Chenab at Kauri in Reasi, which is the highest railway bridge in the world being 359 meters above the river bed level – 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel tower in Paris,” he said.
He said the Anji Khad bridge, which is going to connect Katra and Reasi, is an engineering marvel due to the difficulties involved in the construction process and technology used in it.
The bridge has a total length of 473.25 meters, while the length of the viaduct is 120 meters and the central embankment has a length of 94.25 meters, the official said, adding it has support of 96 cables.
He said the bridge has been designed to handle heavy storms of strong winds and even explosions.
In October 2016, the railway decided to build a cable-stayed bridge at Anji Khad after the plan to build an arch bridge similar to Chenab bridge was abandoned due to vulnerability of the structure primarily due to concerns over geological stability of the region.
Out of the total 272 km USBRL project, the 161 km was commissioned in phases with first phase 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009 followed by 18-km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013 and 25-km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014.
The under-construction 111-km Katra-Banihal section has a total of 37 bridges (26 major and 11 minor), 35 tunnels with a length of 164 kms (main 27 with 97.64 km and eight escape tunnels with 66.40 km).
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