Datanomics: Gujarat bridge collapse highlights infrastructure faultlines

Among India's 150,746 railway bridges, 25.8 per cent are over a century old

The recent collapse of the Gambhira bridge in Gujarat, which killed 17 and injured nine people, highlights a broader crisis in India’s infrastructure, particularly in urban areas. Between 2019 and 2024, 5,015 structural collapse incidents were reported across India, with 91 per cent involving dwelling houses or residential buildings (until 2022), 5.4 per cent official or commercial buildings, and 1.9 per cent bridges. India has around 163,207 public infrastructure assets—railway bridges, national highway bridges, and dams—of which 30.2 per cent are over a century old. While absolute spending on the maintenance of bridges and tunnels by the Railways, highways by