Indian Railways is constructing the country's first cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji Khad in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Ministry of Railways has shared the construction updates of the bridge on Twitter, revealing that the work in the bridge is nearing completion. The bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. The Anji Khad Bridge, connecting Katra and Reasi, is dubbed as an engineering marvel. The link will be a breakthrough in connecting Kashmir with the rest of India by train soon.


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As for the USBRL project, it is one of Indian Railways’ most challenging projects and includes many engineering marvels including the Anji bridge. The project will also comprise the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab river. The 1,315-m arch bridge will be taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris and will rise 331 m above the riverbed.



The Anji Khad Bridge forms the second leg of the project and is being built 7 km south of the Chenab Bridge. Recently, Indian Railways completed a section of the longest tunnel on the 111-km under-construction Banihal-Katra railway link, in Jammu and Kashmir.


The tunnel T-49B is 12.6 km long and is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project. The portion lies between Kundan Adit and Arpinchala in Khari Tehsil, the company undertaking the project construction said. "Being constructed with New Austrian Tunneling Method in Ramban district, the tunnel on completion would have double tracks," the official said. He further said that the tunneling was done with utmost care considering geological challenges.


On December 5, 2021, another tunnel in the Bankot area near Banihal was connected after a breakthrough, while the work on the pylon of India's first cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji Khad in Reasi district was completed on January 4 brightening the chances of a train connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country within the next couple of years.


Of the 272-km USBRL project, the work on 161 km was commissioned in phases. The first phase of the 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section was commissioned in October 2009, followed by the 18-km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013 and the 25-km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014. The under-construction 111-km Katra-Banihal section has a total of 37 bridges -- 26 major ones and 11 minor ones -- and 35 tunnels. 


With inputs from PTI