Omar Abdullah shares glimpses of Chenab bridge a day before inauguration by PM Modi
A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir to flag off the first Vande Bharat train to Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah shared glimpses of 'tallest railway bridge in the world' – The Chenab bridge.
Abdullah visited the Chenab Bridge and reviewed arrangements for the visit of PM Modi on Thursday.
Taking to X, the Jammu and Kashmir CM wrote, 'Visited the tallest railway bridge in the world, The Chenab Bridge, to review arrangements for the visit of the Hon PM @narendramodi ji tomorrow. Tomorrow is a landmark day for J&K when, finally, the valley will be connected to the rest of the country by a railway link to be inaugurated at the hands of the Hon PM.'
He also shared multiple images and videos of the Chenab bridge.
Along with Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Omar Abdullah also inspected the Katra railway station and the Vande Bharat train, which will be flagged off by PM Modi on Friday.
He said, as quoted by ANI, "If I tell you that I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, it will still not be enough. This rail project began when I was in the 7th or 8th class. Now, even my children have started working after completing school and college. But, better late than never...tomorrow PM will inaugurate the Vande Bharat services and it will benefit us...whenever highway gets blocked, the airlines start selling tickets of ₹ 5,000 for ₹ 20,000, such issues will be solved from now on."
"This project has set many records. The Chenab Bridge is higher than the Eiffel Tower. Anji Khad Bridge is the longest cable-stayed railway bridge in the country. There are many tunnels between Katra and Banihal. The project will be boost for economy and tourism. Now it will take 4 hours from Srinagar to Katra. We will ensure successful Amarnath Yatra," he added.
The world's tallest railway bridge, Chenab Bridge, stands 359 meters above mean sea level. It will connect Jammu and Srinagar.
At an estimated cost of over ₹ 43,000 crore, the USBRL project involved laying out ballastless tracks over bridges and tunnels, spanning deep gorges. Ninety per cent of the route was traversed over 943 bridges and 36 main tunnels, including India's longest railway tunnel, T-50, which stretched more than 12.7 km.
Also, on the Katra-Banihal section, the Vande Bharat train will also traverse another engineering marvel: the Anji Khad bridge, India's first cable-stayed bridge. Supported by 96 cables, the 725-meter-long bridge stands 331 meters above mean sea level.
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