PM Modi Inaugurates World’s Highest Railway Bridge Over Chenab

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Chenab rail bridge, the world’s highest railway arch bridge today. This marks the completion of the 42-year-old project to run trains to Kashmir connecting with the rest of the country.

Additionally, the Prime Minister has also flagged off a Vande Bharat train service between Katra and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. This will be the first train connection between the Kashmir valley with the Jammu region. In the  inauguration ceremony Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were present among others.

The railway line will connect lives, livelihoods and landscapes and is thought to open up new avenues of growth and trade. The railway line is completely electrified spanning a distance of 272-km that passes through 36 tunnels and 943 bridges in the Himalayas.

Of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Line (USBRL), the 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section was commissioned in October 2009, followed by an 18-km stretch between Qazigund and Banihal in June 2013, Udhampur-Katra (25 kms) in July 2014 and Banihal-Sangaldan (48.1 km) stretch in February 2024.

The USBRL is one of the most ambitious railway projects undertaken in independent India. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore. 

In order to maximise the impact of this connectivity, the Vande Bharat Express is being introduced between Jammu and Srinagar. Unlike other Vande Bharat trains, those planned to run through the Himalayas are tailored for the harsh winters of the region.  Their special  design pertains them to run smoothly even in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. Heated windshields, advanced heating systems and insulated toilets ensure that the train remains operational and comfortable throughout the year.

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