The first cable-stayed rail bridge in India will be completed in May of this year, despite numerous deadline extensions, including those in 2017 and 2022.
The Anji Khad bridge’s delayed construction, which has been in the works for twenty years and is a critical connector for a train’s transit between Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), is a significant hole in the Indian Railways’ ambitious goal to seamlessly connect Kashmir to the rest of India.
Despite all obstacles, a top Railway official stated that “all 96 cables have been fully installed as of April 26 in a record time period of eleven months between June 2022 and April 2023.”
The Anji bridge is designed with a total 96 cables— 48 cables each on lateral and central spans. “The cables totally weigh 848.7 metric tonnes with total length of cable strands involved running into 653 kilometres,” the official said.
As on date, 44 out of total 47 segments have been launched which require support of stay cables. Now, the balance three segments shall be launched without stay cables as per the design.
The bridge connects tunnel T2 on Katra side to tunnel T3 on Reasi in Jammu & Kashmir on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line project.
The total length of the bridge is 725 metres, which includes a 473- metre-long asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, balanced on the axis of a central pylon at 193 metres height from the top of the foundation, standing at a height of 331 metres (nearly 77 storeys) above the river-bed.
The cable-stayed bridge has a 290-metre span on the north side (Katra side) and a 183-metre span on the south side (Reasi side). The bridge has a single-line railway track and a 3.75 metre wide service road. After completion of the bridge, it will pave the way for a single broad gauge track for trains connecting Jammu to Baramulla via Srinagar, along a 326-km railway line.
The project is commissioned by the Northern Railways and is being executed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Hindustan Construction Company.