Chenab rail bridge opens a new era of development in J&K: Railways

JAMMU: The iconic Chenab rail bridge doesn’t just connect two mountains but dreams, development, and a new era for Jammu and Kashmir, the Railway Ministry said on Wednesday ahead of its official opening by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 19.

Modi will flag off Vande Bharat train from Jammu to Srinagar via Katra to mark the completion of the 272-kilometre Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link.

“Built in the geologically complex and unstable terrain of the Himalayas, the Chenab Bridge is more than a feat of infrastructure – it is a symbol of India’s grit, innovation, and unwavering resolve to bring progress to even the most remote corners,” Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said.

“As it stands tall over the Chenab, the bridge doesn’t just connect two mountains – it connects dreams, development, and a new era for Jammu & Kashmir,” the release said.

The Railway Ministry said that stretching 1,315 metres across the Chenab River near the Salal Dam, the bridge features a main arch span of 467 metres, and can withstand wind speeds up to 266 kmph.

According to the ministry, the bridge surpasses the Eiffel Tower in height and is nearly five times taller than the Qutub Minar from riverbed to rail level.

“The construction of this engineering marvel involved over 28,000 metric tonnes of steel and introduced a first-of-its-kind cable crane system in Indian Railways – used to ferry materials across a 915-metre-wide gorge with two massive cable cars and pylons towering over 100 metres high,” Kumar said.

The bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project and it connects “not just terrain but aspirations – linking the Kashmir Valley to the rest of India with an all-weather, reliable rail route.” The ministry claimed that its the “world’s highest railway bridge” at 359 metres above the riverbed.