Indian Railways has achieved a major milestone by completing the arch of the Chenab Bridge – the world’s highest railway bridge. The 5.6-metre steel arch is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project and key segment of the 111-km-long stretch from Katra to Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir. The iconic arch bridge on River Chenab will link the Kashmir valley to the rest of India.  

The last piece of metal was fitted at the highest point on Monday, joining two arms of the arch that stretched towards each other from both banks of the river. The arch now looms over the Chenab that flows some 359 metres below. 

Now that the arch is complete, the stay cables will be removed, the concrete in the arch rib will be filled, the steel trestle will be erected and after the viaduct has been launched, the railway track will be laid. 

The iconic bridge is 1,315 metres long and is the world’s highest railway bridge being 359 metres above the river bed level. The arch of the Chenab Bridge will be 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Bridge construction involved the fabrication of 28,660 million tonnes of steel, 10 lakh cum earthwork, 66,000 cum concrete as well as 26 km of motorable roads. 

The arch comprises steel boxes. Concrete will be filled in boxes of the arch to improve stability. The overall weight of the arch is 10,619 million tonnes. For the first time, erection of the members of the arch has been done by overhead cable cranes on Indian Railways network.