World's highest rail bridge in J&K: All about the under-construction marvel above Chenab river slated for 2021

The world's highest railway bridge over river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir will be ready by 2021, officials said on Sunday. The bridge will connect the valley with the rest of India by train for the first time by 2022.

It has a central span of 467 metres, and is being built at a height of 359 metres from the bed level.

"The construction work of the bridge was accelerated in the last year under the direct supervision of the top echelons of the central government," the official said.

Highest rail bridge in the world

The height of Qutab Minar in Delhi is 72 metres and that of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is 324 metres. "This is the tallest railway bridge in the world and the maximum designed wind speed for the bridge is 266 kmph," a senior government official said.

The Udhmapur-Katra (25 Km) section, Banihal-Quazigund (18 Km) section and Quazigund-Baramulla (118Km) section have already been commissioned.

The last remaining section, the 111 km Katra-Banihal section, is currently under execution. It is targeted for completion in December 2022. The 126 km out of 174 km of tunnels on this section has already been completed.

All Weather Rail Connectivity: Embarking on a dream project, Indian Railways is building world's highest Rail bridge on River Chenab connecting Kashmir Valley.

An engineering marvel, it will facilitate trade & be a strategic asset for the Indian armed forces. pic.twitter.com/fUcNmoHaNY

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 11, 2020

According to the plans, Kashmir will be connected with train by December 2022.

There has been a greater push in the last one year for implementation of various projects under the Rs 80,068 crore Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) announced on November 7, 2015, the official said.

The package is meant for strengthening socio-economic infrastructure and balanced regional development of Jammu and Kashmir. The programme touches practically every sector and provides for massive investments in basic infrastructure, another official said.