Kashmir Valley likely to get rail connectivity by end of 2023
Reasi: The construction work of two major railways bridges is soon to be completed and the Kashmir Valley will get rail connectivity by the end of 2023, which includes India’s first cable-stayed bridge in the Reasi district — Anji bridge.
The 725.5 meter-long railway bridge, part of the national Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, will get its final three-segment installation by May 2023, chief engineer Sanjay Gupta confirmed.
However, the railway bridge is situated in an extremely complex, fragile area beside the seismic proneness of the young fold mountains of the Himalayas.
There are a total of 47 segments in the Anji bridge, where Gupta claimed 44 segments have been installed and engineers are working relentlessly to complete the work of three segments on a priority basis. It also has a single pylon of 193 meters in height from the top of the foundation and
24 sets of cables — each set has 4 cables.
The main bridge over Anji is 473.25 meters consisting of a main span of 290 meters. The rail bridge also connects tunnels T2 and T3 on the Katra-Banihal section of the USBRL project.
The chief engineer of the project from northern railways Sanjay Gupta added that the railway bridge shall carry a single railway line plus a 3.75-meter wide service road. There is a 1.5-meter
wide footpath on each side of the deck with an overall width of 15 meters.
Keeping the weather in mind, the Anji Khad rail bridge has also been designed to handle heavy storms with strong winds of a maximum of 213 kmph. “The train speed should be within 100 kmph and detailed site-specific investigations were carried out by IIT, Roorkee and IIT, Delhi,” Gupta said.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also mentioned on Saturday, while addressing a press conference in Srinagar, that the Udhampur-Banihal track, connecting Jammu with Srinagar, will be completed by December this year or early next year. “There is good progress on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line. The work on the Chenab and Anji bridges and major tunnels is also going on and there is good progress. By the grace of god, the train will chug on this route in December this year or January-February next year,” the minister said.
Various unique techniques and equipment are also being used in the national rail project- DOKA jump, shuttering and pump converting system to increase efficiency and provide higher safety for workers.
This Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project also includes the world’s highest railway bridge on the river Chenab in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the rail minister will be visiting the site on Sunday.
