J&K (The Stellar News) Saksham Kalia: India has just witnessed an example of world class engineering and technology as the world’s highest rail bridge is now open in the reasi region of Jammu and Kashmir by Indian Railway. With the hoisting of Indian Flag, the bridge five times higher in height than Qutub Minar is now opened for public.
The bridge is connecting the two separate regions of Jammu and Kashmir with India. The bridge is designed with the help of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to make it blast proof by using a special type of steel.
The Chenab Rail Bridge spans the Chenab river at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, making it the world’s highest rail bridge. In November 2017, the base supports were declared completed allowing for the start of the construction of the main arch. The bridge was fully completed and was inaugurated in August 2022.
In April 2021, the Chenab Rail Bridge’s arch was completed and the overall bridge was completed in August 2022. It is expected to open to rail traffic in December 2022.
Key technical data of the bridge include:
- Deck height (height above river bed): 359 m (1,178 ft), (height above river surface): 322 m (1,056 ft)
- Bridge length: 1,315 m (4,314 ft), including the 650 m (2,130 ft) long viaduct on the northern side
- Arch span: 467 m (1,532 ft)
- Arch length: 480 m (1,570 ft)
This makes the Chenab Rail Bridge:
- The world’s highest railway bridge
- The bridge with the longest span in the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge railway network
This is the only rail bridge at such height constructed with the excellence of
Design
After many deliberations, taking into account aesthetics, economy, and availability of local expertise and construction materials, the Chenab Rail Bridge was designed as a large span single arch steel bridge with approach viaducts on either side. The arch is two-ribbed, fabricated from large steel trusses. The chords of the trusses are sealed steel boxes, internally stiffened and filled with concrete to assist in controlling wind-induced forces on the bridge. Another advantage of concrete filling is that internal painting will not be required.
The number of bearings has been minimized, particularly on the approach viaduct, through the use of continuous construction. This is advantageous, as it reduces the maintenance and inspection efforts, and improves the riding quality. The viaduct piers are of concrete, while the piers near the arch are Indian construction standards such as the Indian Railway Standards (IRS), the Indian Road Congress (IRC) and the Indian Standards (IS) were found inadequate for the large spans of the Chenab Bridge. For example, the Indian Railway Standards (IRS) is primarily intended for simply supported bridges with spans up to 100m (although these have been successfully used for higher spans up to 154m). The spans for the Chenab Rail Bridge greatly exceed this limit, and are continuous. Therefore, to assure a safe design, Indian national standards have been supplemented with International standards such as British Standards (BS), International Union of Railways (UIC) and Euro. Also, many global experts with versatile and relevant experience, have been involved in order to facilitate making the project a success.
Construction
The Chenab Rail Bridge was originally intended to be completed in December 2009. However, in September 2008, the project was halted due to fears over the bridge’s stability and safety. Work on the bridge restarted in 2010, With the plan to complete it in 2015.
The design and construction was awarded to Afcons Infrastructure, a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the third-largest construction group in India, with the help of IISC Bangalore. Major construction decisions were taken by Konkan Railway Corporation. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) helped in the design of the bridge, making it blast-proof using special steel.
The erection scheme for the bridge is a project in itself. Two pylons (about 130 m and 100 m high) were erected on either side of the river, and two auxiliary self-propelled cable cranes (capacity of 20 tonnes each) were used to tow temporary auxiliary ropes across these pylons. The ropes were used to support the partly finished arch parts. After arch completion, the trusses will be added, finally the girder will be constructed as a horizontal sliding type platform.
