Photo: Collected
The Vande Bharat Express has crossed the world’s highest rail bridge, built over the Chenab river in India, and the Anji bridge, the country’s first cable-stayed rail bridge. This trial of train movement over the two bridges at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour is being seen as a new milestone in rail connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to reports by Indian media outlets NDTV and the Press Trust of India (PTI), the trial run was completed on Thursday. With this, the maximum permitted speed limit of trains on the Katra-Banihal rail line in the Jammu division has been raised from 75 to 100 kilometres per hour.
Northern Railway officials said approval to raise the speed limit on the 111-kilometre-long Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Banihal rail line was given after the prescribed safety-related conditions were met. Earlier, trains were permitted to run at a maximum speed of 85 kilometres per hour on the Katra-Sangaldan section and 75 kilometres on the Sangaldan-Banihal section.
India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also released a video of the train crossing the bridge on social media. His post highlighted the event as an important achievement of India’s engineering capability.
The Chenab rail bridge is located in the Reasi area of Jammu and Kashmir. The bridge is 359 metres high from the riverbed and 1,315 metres long; it is known as the world’s highest rail arch bridge. On the other hand, the Anji Khad bridge is India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge.
The Katra-Banihal section is an important part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project (USBRL). This rail line, built through rugged mountainous terrain, has long tunnels, deep valleys and large bridges. The aim of the project is to ensure direct rail connectivity between the Kashmir valley and other regions of India.
The railway authorities hope that raising the speed limit will make train movement on this route smoother and reduce journey time. At the same time, travel for passengers, tourists and pilgrims to the Kashmir valley will also become easier.
