The long cherished dream of traveling directly to Srinagar by train can now be fulfilled soon as the trial run of the MEMU train (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) on the newly constructed Electrified line section (Reasi-Sangaldan) with a route length of 46 Km on USBRL project was conducted on 20.06.2024 at a speed of 40 kmph.
The first trial of the MEMU train on the world’s highest Chenab rail bridge was conducted successfully. Traveling to #Kashmir via train is possible soon.@AshwiniVaishnaw, @RPF_Indiaa pic.twitter.com/Jeo3atbqte
— Gaon Tribune गांव ट्रिब्यून (@GaonTribune) June 20, 2024
It was successfully carried out starting at 12:35 Hrs from Sangaldan and reaching Reasi at 14:05 Hrs.
On the way, it passes through nine tunnels with a combined length of 40.787 Km and the longest tunnel T-44 of 11.13 Km.
The first ever full train crossed over the iconic bridge between Dugga and Bakkal stations across the Chenab River, which is the world’s highest railway bridge with a central span of 467 meters at a staggering height of 359 meters.
The stations Reasi, Bakkal, Dugga and Sawlakote are situated in the Reasi district of J&K.
The Railway Electrification work on this section has been executed with state-of-the-art technology, ROCS (Rigid Overhead Conductor System) at 25 kV, for the first time on Indian Railways.
The long cherished dream of travelling to Kashmir by rail can now be fulfilled after Railways on Thursday conducted a successful trial of the train on world’s highest bridge.
The bridge is 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower
This arch bridge is being built on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of the Jammu division, which is 35 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. The height of its arch is 359 meters above the water level of the Chenab River. Salal-A and Dugga railway stations have been connected on both sides with the launch of the overarch deck of the Chenab bridge.
The bridge is being made earthquake-resistant. This bridge is part of the 272 km long railway project from Udhampur to Baramulla. The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link is an ambitious project of the country.
World’s highest railway bridge
The length of the 17-pillared bridge is 1315 meters and 28,660 metric tonnes of steel have been used in its construction at Rs 1,486 crore. The installed arch weighs 10,619 metric tons. The steel used in the structure is suitable for temperatures ranging from minus 10 °C to minus 40 °C. The minimum lifespan of the bridge is 120 years. It is being made to run trains at a speed of 100 km.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link is included in the country’s ambitious project, for which an estimated expenditure of Rs 28,000 crores is to be spent.
