Kashmir To Be Connected To Rest Of India By Railway Line By Dec 2021

The Indian Railways has set a deadline for the completion of the world's highest railway bridge, which will connect Kashmir with the rest of India, at December 2021.

The rail line, which is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, is the Konkan Railway's most challenging project in the post-independent history of the Indian Railways it said.

"It is most challenging task in the 150-year-long history of the railways. The highest railway bridge in the world, connecting Kashmir with rest of country through rail line will be completed by December 2021," said Konkan Railway Chairman Sanjay Gupta to reporters on Wednesday.

"The construction of the bridge is the most challenging part of the Kashmir rail link project undertaken post independence and, once completed, it will be an engineering marvel," Gupta said.

The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed in hostile terrain, have used over 5,462 tonnes of steel will be 359 metres above the river bed, he added.

Designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 km per hour, the 1.315-km-long "engineering marvel" will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar).

The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.

On completion, it will surpass the record of the Beipan river Shuibai railway bridge (275 m) in China.

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project is highly essential to provide an alternative and a reliable transportation system to Jammu and Kashmir to join Kashmir Valley to the Indian Railways network, Gupta said. The project was declared a national project in 2002, he added.