Railways completes trial run on India's first cable-stayed bridge in J-K

The Railways has successfully conducted a trial run of a tower wagon on India's first cable-stayed rail bridge, the Anji Khad Bridge, in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, paving the way for the start of rail services to Kashmir in January next year.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared a video clip of the trial run on the social media platform X.

The railway ministry issued a statement, saying, "Giving wings to connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir, the trial run of a tower wagon on India's first cable-stayed rail bridge, the Anji Khad Bridge, was successfully completed for the USBRL project."  The work on the railway bridge at Anji Khad was completed last month. The completion of the bridge received praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project is aimed at providing rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.

The Anji Khad Bridge, featuring a single pylon with a height of 331 metres above the riverbed, is yet another engineering milestone achieved by the Indian Railways under the USBRL project, officials said.

Described as a "true engineering marvel", the bridge has 48 cables on its lateral and central spans. Work on its pylon began in 2017, and the structure stands 191 metres above its foundation level, they added.

It is the second-highest railway bridge after the iconic arch bridge over the Chenab at Kauri, which is the world's highest railway bridge at 359 metres above the riverbed 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Anji Khad Bridge has a total length of 473.25 metres, with the viaduct measuring 120 metres and the central embankment 94.25 metres, the officials said.

Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh announced in November that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the Vande Bharat train connecting Kashmir to New Delhi on the USBRL in January.

With the expected commissioning of train services in phases, the Railways has completed 255 kilometres of the 272-kilometre USBRL project, leaving only a small stretch between Katra and Reasi to be completed by December.