Anji Khad Bridge
Anji Khad Bridge under construction as of 2022
Coordinates	33°4′52″N 74°54′46″E / 33.08111°N 74.91278°E / 33.08111; 74.91278
Carries	Indian Railways
Crosses	Anji River, tributary of Chenab River between Katra and Reasi
Characteristics
Design	Cable-stayed
Material	Steel
Total length	473.25 m (1,552.7 ft)[1]
Height	(river bed to formation) 196 m (643 ft)[1]
Longest span	290 m (950 ft)
No. of spans	3
History
Designer	Hindustan Construction Company
Location

Jammu–Baramulla line
Legend
km Baramulla to Uri (inprogress) 338 Baramulla Sopore to Kupwara (inprogress) Sopore–Bandipora–Ganderbal Line (proposed) 330 Sopore 323 Hamre 315 Pattan 307 Mazhom 297 Nadigam Budgam–Ganderbal-Kargil–Leh line (planned) 292 Budgam 281 Srinagar 275 Pampore Jhelum Bridge 269 Kakapora Awantipora to Shopian (inprogress) 259 Awantipora 252 Panzgom 245 Bijbehara to Pahalgam (inprogress) 238 Anantnag 231 Sadura 226 Qazigund Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel ( 11.2 km 7 mi ) 208 Banihal Tunnel T74R ( 8.6 km 5.3 mi ) Khari Tunnel T49 ( 12.75 km 7.92 mi ) Sumber Tunnel T48 ( 10.2 km 6.3 mi ) Sangaldan Tunnels include T47-Br88-T46-Br 87-T44/45-Br85-T42/43, ( 7 km 4 mi ) Sangaldan Sawalkote Dugga Chenab Rail Bridge Bakkal Reasi Anji Khad Bridge 78 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra 62 Chak Rakhwal Udhampur to Bhaderwah (planned) 53 Udhampur 44 Ramnagar Tawi Bridge 22 Manwal 14 Sangar 10 Bajalta Jammu–Poonch line to Poonch (planned) 0 Jammu Tawi Jalandhar–Jammu line km
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The Anji Khad bridge is a cable-stayed bridge connecting the Katra and Reasi sections of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla-Rail-Link (USBRL) in the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The bridge lies southeast of the Chenab Bridge, near Reasi, along which the alignment of the railway line crosses the deep gorge of the Anji Khad or chasm. An earlier arch bridge design proposal similar to that of the Chenab Bridge was rejected and a new cable-stayed design was approved. It is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge. It is built by Hindustan Construction Company, and is widely regarded as an engineering marvel of modern India.

History

Arch Bridge design proposal: rejected

The Anji Khad bridge was initially proposed to be an arch bridge. It was designed as a long steel arches span bridge. Its total length was to be 473 m (1,552 ft), with a main arch span of 265 m (869 ft), and a deck height of 189 m (620 ft). Quality aspects, construction standards, indigenous materials, and the painting scheme were proposed to be similar to the Chenab Bridge. Later, a committee headed by a former railway board chairman recommended that the location was not suitable for an arch bridge. In particular, the unstable geology of the Himalayan mountains combined with the steepness of the sides of the gorge made an arch bridge impractical.

Cable-stayed bridge design proposal: accepted

In October 2016, Indian Railways decided to build a cable-stayed bridge at Anji Khad.^[2] The completed bridge will connect tunnels T2 and T3 on the Katra and Reasi sides respectively. It has a 290 meter main span at a height of 196 meters.^[3] The length of bridge’s main section is 473.25 meters out of a total length of over 1,300 meters, with a 120 meter long viaduct. The bridge is asymmetrical, supported by 96 cables anchored to a single pylon on the Reasi side.^[4] The initial cost of the project was set at ₹458 crore.

Design

The basic design proposed by a foreign firm is used. The head of the construction of Northern Railways has informed that the detailed design is being worked out.

Status updates

• January 2017: HCC to construct cable-stayed Anji Khad Bridge. The work is planned to be completed in 36 months.^[5]

• March 2021: Bridge design entails a single pylon, the construction of this pylon has been completed.^[6]

• January 2022: It is now proposed that the bridge will be completed within a year, i.e. by December 2022.^[7]

• April 2023: All 96 cables have been attached, and the bridge stands nearly completed with associated track laying and fine tuning work to be completed in the following few months to conclude the project. ^[8]

• August 2023: A trial run was reportedly successfully completed. ^[9]