Katra to Srinagar: How many bridges and tunnels do you need to cross along the rail route

Srinagar: The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, an unprecedented engineering marvel in India, boasts a staggering 943 bridges and 36 tunnels on a 119-kilometre stretch across its entire 272-kilometre length.

This historic achievement of the Indian railways is set to start ferrying passengers on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the final finished 111-kilometre Katra-Banihal section. This stretch will give the final shape of rail connectivity between Jammu and the Kashmir Valley.

Starting Saturday, two Vande Bharat Express trains will embark on this challenging journey, traversing major geological thrust zones and crossing iconic rivers like Chenab and Anji.

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Dubbed perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in independent India, the USBRL, sanctioned in 1994-95, has overcome immense natural hurdles. The 111-km Katra-Banihal stretch alone demanded carving through diverse geological zones.

The Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) spearheaded this difficult construction, with 161 km of the project already operational from both ends.

Within this critical 111-kilometre section, 37 bridges span a combined length of seven kilometres, including 26 major and 11 minor structures. A remarkable 87 per cent (97.42 km) of this section runs through tunnels, notably featuring the 12.77-km-long Tunnel No. 50, India’s longest transportation railway tunnel.

This tunnel, connecting Khari and Sumber, navigated complex geology, high water ingress, and landslides, necessitating multiple access tunnels for accelerated construction.

Among the engineering marvels on this route are four particularly unique bridges. Bridge Number 35, the Anji Bridge, stands as India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, connecting Katra and Reasi with 96 cables, designed to withstand the region’s seismic challenges.

Spanning 725 meters and rising 331 meters above the Anji River, it utilised an astonishing 653 kilometres of cable strand. Further along, Bridge Numbers 39 and 43, built by Afcons for KRCL, host the Reasi and Salal station yards respectively, with Bridge 39 featuring towering piers up to 103 meters, taller than the Qutub Minar. The crowning glory is Bridge 44 across the Chenab River, standing at a breathtaking 359 meters above the riverbed, earning it the world record for the highest rail bridge from its base, as per the railways, even surpassing the Eiffel Tower in height.

Building upon the remarkable infrastructure of the USBRL project, the challenging terrain between Katra and Dharam is traversed by a total of 16 tunnels, collectively spanning approximately 45 kilometres. The construction of these crucial underground passages leveraged a combination of advanced techniques, including the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the I-System, and conventional tunnelling practices, to navigate the region’s complex geology. Among these impressive tunnels, the 9-kilometre-long Tunnel No. 13, situated near Dugga in the Reasi district, stands out as another significant feat of engineering along this ambitious railway line.