Apple, saffron will reach the destination quickly on the new railway, said the railway minister

• March 26, 2023

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the 'Chenab Brij' or 'Wonder Bridge' built over the Chandrabhaga River will turn the economy of Jammu and Kashmir around, the Railway Minister Aswini Baishnab has announced.

 The first trolley ran with the railway minister on the bridge built at a height of 359 meters from Chandrabhaga gorge in Bakkal, Jammu.

He said, "The work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project has been going on for a long time, but after the arrival of the Modi government in 2014, its speed increased. For the first time, Jammu and Kashmir will be directly connected to other parts of the country by rail.

The railway minister also explained how the new railway line will play a special role in delivering Jammu-Kashmir apples, dry fruits, saffron, construction materials and other essential goods to Kashmir. Apart from the construction of four new kinetic terminals for the movement of goods in Kashmir, he also informed about the construction of the Vande Bharat Express maintenance depot at Badgam. He also spoke about the idea of ​​creating three special tourist centers around the newly-constructed Chandrabhaga Bridge to boost the regional economy.

1.5 lakh people of 73 hill villages in adjoining areas have benefited. About 205 km of roads have been constructed. Chandrabhaga bridge has been constructed between Kauri and Bakkal in Reasi district of Jammu under the USBRL project in the geographically very unfavorable Pirpanjal mountain range. It took about six years to reach there before the bridge was built between the canyons on both sides. Apart from constructing a 26 km road through steep hills, a 400 meter long tunnel has to be dug for road traffic only.

About 28,500 tons of steel were used in the construction of the bridge. The railway minister said that the bridge under the seismic zone-6 can withstand an earthquake of magnitude eight on the Richter scale. Chandrabhaga Bridge is built on a steel arch about 550 meters long.

At different times of the year storms blow over the bridge over the gorge. There are also examples of storms blowing at a speed of 150 km in that part. Temperatures often drop to near freezing. Even in summer, snow can be seen on the mountain peaks from the bridge. Officials say that the bridge will be able to withstand the impact of wind speed of about 266 km along with temperature fluctuations. However, if the wind speed reaches 90 km per hour over the bridge, the train will not be able to run. It will close automatically. The railway minister said that the base of the bridge has been made in the shape of a small football field 80 meters long and 50 meters wide to withstand the impact of the earthquake.

Trains can run at a maximum speed of 100 kmph under normal conditions on the bridge. A firm in Howrah, Bengal has supplied the steel sleepers under the railway tracks above the bridge, Konkan Railway officials said. About 2500 English letter 'H' shaped special sleepers have been used for railway tracks.

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