Railways conducts trial run on world’s highest Chenab Rail Bridge

New Delhi: Indian Railways successfully conducted a trial run of an eight-coach MEMU train on the world's highest railway bridge -- Chenab Bridge -- in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.  

"After an extensive inspection of the newly constructed Chenab Bridge by senior officers from Railway Board, Northern Railway and Konkan Railway, a trial run was conducted on a 46-km-long electrified line section between Sangaldan in Ramban district and Reasi at a speed of 40 kmph," the Railway Ministry said in a statement.

The success of the trail will pave the way for the start of rail service on the route from Reasi to Baramulla in Kashmir.

"After conduction of a series of such tests, this bridge would be open to run all train services which will be a monumental stride towards the seamless integration of the Kashmir valley with Jammu and the broader Indian landscape," the ministry said.

The railways said that it was the first ever full train that crossed over the iconic bridge between Dugga and Bakkal stations across the Chenab river, which is the world's highest arch railway bridge.

The stations -- Reasi, Bakkal, Dugga and Sawlakote -- are situated in the Reasi district of J&K.

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, including the 48.1-km-long Banihal-Sangaldan section, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024.

Phase I of the project, covering the 118 km long Qazigund-Baramulla section, was inaugurated in October 2009 under the Congress-led UPA govt.

Subsequent phases saw the inauguration of the 18 km long Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25 km Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.

In February 2024, the first electric train trial run from Banihal to Khari to Sangaldan section on the Banihal-Katra section of the USBRL project in Ramban was successfully conducted on around 40 km of track and tunnels between Banihal and Sangaldan railway stations in Ramban district.

The USBRL Project involves 38 Tunnels (combined length of 119Km), the longest Tunnel (T-49) is having a length of 12.75 Km and is country's longest transportation tunnel.

There are 927 bridges (combined length of 13 Km). These bridges include the iconic Chenab Bridge (Overall length 1315 m, Arch span of 467 m and height of 359 m above river bed) which is around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower and is pegged to be the World's highest arch railway bridge.