“First electric engine rolling through Tunnel No. 1 and the Anji Khad Cable Bridge,” Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X in which he shared a video clip of the trial run.
On Monday, Vaishnaw shared a clip of the successful trial run of a fully loaded tower wagon on the Anji Khad Bridge.
The bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project, which is aimed at providing rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.
Described as a “true engineering marvel”, the bridge has 48 cables on its lateral and central spans. Work on its pylon began in 2017, and the structure stands 191 metres above its foundation level, they added.
It is the second-highest railway bridge after the iconic arch bridge over the Chenab at Kauri, which is the world’s highest railway bridge at 359 metres above the riverbed — 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The Anji Khad Bridge has a total length of 473.25 metres, with the viaduct measuring 120 metres and the central embankment 94.25 metres, the officials said.
Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh announced in November that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the Vande Bharat train connecting Kashmir to New Delhi on the USBRL in January.
With the expected commissioning of train services in phases, the Railways has completed 255 kilometres of the 272-kilometre USBRL project, leaving only a small stretch between Katra and Reasi to be completed by December.
