Srinagar, Apr 27: In a significant move, the northern railways has achieved another milestone in connecting Udhampur-Baramulla-Srinagar Railway Link (USBRL) by installing cables on Anji Khad bridge which is the India’s first cable-stayed bridge in Reasi in just 11 months.
Anji Khad Bridge connecting Katra and Reasi and all 96 cables were fully installed in a record time of 11 months. The bridge forms an important link in Indian Railways’ aim to connect J&K to the rest of the country with all-weather rail connectivity. It connects Katra and Reasi via tunnels T2 and T3 on the Katra-Banihal section.
Public Relation Officer Northern Railways said Anji Khad Cable Stay bridge is designed with a total of 96 cables i.e. 48 cables each on lateral and central spans.
“All 96 cables were fully installed on 26 April 2023, in a record time period of 11 months (June 2022 to April 2023) in spite of all constraints,” he said.
According to the spokesman as on date, 44 segments out of total 47 segments have been launched which required support of stay cables. Now, the balance three segments shall be launched without stay cables as per design. The launch of the superstructure will be completed by next month,” he said.
The asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crosses the deep gorges of Anji river, a tributary of river Chenab.
“The total length of the bridge is 725m which includes a 473m long asymmetric cable Stay Bridge balanced on the axis of a central pylon from the top of foundation, standing above the river bed,” the spokesman said.
Anji Khad Bridge is the country’s “first cable-stayed bridge” of Indian Railways connecting Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir. The bridge is a part of the national project of the Udhampur-Srinagar- Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project.
The bridge is located in the young fold mountains of the Himalayas having extremely complex, fragile and daunting geological features in the form of faults, folds and thrusts and besides seismic proneness of the region.
Detailed site-specific investigations were carried out by IIT, Roorkee and IIT, Delhi. While Site-specific Earthquake parameters studies were carried out by the Department of Earthquake Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee to define the seismo-tectonic framework for the region.
This bridge has a single main pylon of height 193 m from the top of the foundation, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed.
On March 22, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the operation of the country’s first indigenous semi-high speed train on the Udhampur-Srinagar- Baramulla rail route. The new age train is likely to be introduced by the end of this year.
Vaishnaw stated that the Udhampur-Banihal track connecting Jammu with Srinagar will be completed by December this year, or early next year.
