The Indian Railways on Thursday successfully conducted a trial run of a train between Sangaldan and Reasi, marking a significant milestone in connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country via the world’s highest bridge over the Chenab River.
“Successful trial run of MEMU train between Sangaldan-Reasi section of USBRL project,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on X on Thursday.
The trial run on the world’s highest railway bridge, the Chenab Bridge, was a success! Located between Sangaldan and Reasi, the Indian Railways will soon start rail services on this iconic route, an official said.
The Chenab Bridge, standing at 359 metres above the river bed, surpasses the height of the Eiffel Tower.
A railway officer said that the trial run of MEMU train (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) on the newly constructed electrified line section (Reasi-Sangaldan) of the USBRL project, spanning 46 km, was successfully conducted on Thursday at a speed of 40 kmph.
It was successfully carried out, starting at 12:35 hrs from Sangaldan and reaching Reasi at 14:05 hrs. On the way, it passes through 9 tunnels totalling 40.787 km in length, including the longest tunnel T-44 spanning 11.13 Km.
The first-ever full train crossed the iconic bridge between Dugga and Bakkal stations across the Chenab River, which holds the distinction of being the world’s highest railway bridge. It features a central span of 467 metres at a staggering height of 359 metres.
The stations Reasi, Bakkal, Dugga, and Sawlakote are situated in the Reasi district of J&K. The Railway Electrification work on this section has been executed with state-of-the-art technology, ROCS (Rigid Overhead Conductor System), at 25 kV, marking a first on the Indian Railways, the official added.