Chenab Bridge – An Icon of Indian Railways Heritage

Synopsis – Indian Railway is building modern engineering marvels such as Chenab Bridge and Anji Khad Bridge. Decades from now, they will serve as the Railways’ heritage.

Introduction-

• Over the last 160 years, railway engineers built a number of ‘Mega Structures,’ including railway bridges.
• The Indian Railway has 1,50,390 Bridges, out of which 702 are important, 12,256 major and 1,37,432 minor bridges.
• According to 2015 CAG report there are 36,470 Bridges which are more than 100 years old and 6,680 Bridges more than 140 years old.
• Causey Arch in England, designed in 1725-26, is the world’s oldest surviving railway bridge.

Challenges during construction of Railway bride in Hilly areas

Tough Terrain- Bridge building in a hilly area presents its own set of challenges. The climatic conditions, geological features, and hydrological parameters differ greatly in a hilly environment. It makes construction conditions difficult.

• Deep gorges, severely cold temperatures, rivers with bouldery beds, strong winds, landslides are some example of obstacles in building bridges in hilly areas.

Examples of modern marvel of Indian Bridge-

• One, Irang Bridge – In Manipur, Indian Railways is building the world’s tallest pier bridge across the river Ijai. The pier bridge will be 141 metres tall surpassing the existing record of 139 metres of the Mala-Rijeka Viaduct in Europe.
• Two, New Pamban bridge – Indian Railways first vertical lift rail-sea bridge. The New Pamban Bridge will be over 2 kilometers long when completed. It will allow ships and steamers to pass. 
• Three, Bogibeel Bridge – Bogibeel Bridge, on the Brahmaputra River in Assam, is India’s longest rail-road bridge.
• Four, Chenab Bridge – Across the Chenab river, the world’s highest steel arch bridge is being built. It has a height of 359 metres from the bed level to the centre of the arch. Chenab Bridge will term as a future icon of Indian Railways heritage.

What is the difference between Tallest Bridge and Highest Bridge?

• Tallest Bridge – Distance from the highest portion of the bridge to the surface of the water.
• Highest Bridge- The highest Bridge is defined in terms of deck height. The deck height of a bridge is the maximum vertical drop distance between the bridge deck and the ground or water surface beneath the bridge span.

Source- Indian Express