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PM Inaugurates India’s Tallest Rail Arch & First Cable-Stayed Rail Bridge.
Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated two of India’s most ambitious engineering feats — the world’s highest railway arch bridge over the Chenab River and the country’s first cable-stayed rail bridge over Anji Khad — marking a historic moment in the journey to integrate the Kashmir Valley into India’s national rail network.
The back-to-back inaugurations were part of the formal launch of the long-awaited Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, now finally complete after decades of engineering challenges and political delays.
Calling the Chenab Bridge an “architectural marvel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said the 1,315-metre-long steel arch structure rises 359 metres above the riverbed — taller than the Eiffel Tower — and is designed to withstand earthquakes and high wind speeds. The bridge connects the rugged terrains of Reasi and Kouri, and forms a crucial link in the 272-km USBRL stretch.
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Shortly after, PM Modi also inaugurated the Anji Khad Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, located over a deep gorge in the Reasi district. Spanning 2,830 feet and supported by 96 steel cables, the asymmetrically designed structure includes a central pylon standing 633 feet above its foundation. The bridge connects Katra to Reasi and is engineered to withstand extreme winds of up to 213 km/h.
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Both bridges are critical components of the ₹43,780 crore USBRL project, which features 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges, bringing round-the-year, all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley for the first time.
During his visit, the Prime Minister interacted with engineers — past and present — involved in the execution of the project. His arrival in the Union Territory marks his first since Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Officials confirmed that Vande Bharat Express services will now operate on the Srinagar-Katra route, slashing travel time between the Valley and the rest of India. For now, only the Katra-Srinagar stretch is operational pending upgrades at Jammu station.
In addition to the rail inaugurations, PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for several road infrastructure projects to boost last-mile connectivity, especially in border areas. He also launched the ₹350-crore Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Katra — the first medical college in Reasi district.
With today’s twin inaugurations, Kashmir’s decades-long dream of seamless rail connectivity has finally reached the platform — not just symbolically, but structurally.
kashmir observer