Why in news

• Recently the Indian Railways completed the Arch closure of the iconic Chenab Bridge,
• The Arch closure was one of the most difficult parts of the bridge over Chenab and its completion is a major leap towards the completion of the 111 km-long winding stretch from Katra to Banihal.
   

Points to note

• It is arguably the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
• It is the world's highest railway bridge.
• It is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL).
• The bridge,  having a length of 1.315 km will be the highest railway bridge in the world being 359m above the river bed level.
•  It involves the fabrication of 28,660 metric tonnes of steel, 10 lakh cum rarthwork, 66,000 cum concrete, and 26 km motorable roads.
• At present, it takes 12 hours via road (Katra-Banihal), but after completion of the bridge, distance via train would be halved.

Novelty of the project

• The bridge is designed for blast load in consultation with the DRDO for the first time in India.
•  It can withstand high wind speed up to 266 km per hour.
• The bridge has been built to remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 km per hour even after the removal of one pier.
• It has the capacity to bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V in India.
• Erection of the units of the arch by overhead cable cranes was done for the first time by Indian Railways.
• The structural detailing of the project uses the most sophisticated technique and steel that can withstand temperatures from -10°C to 40°C .
• In a first for Indian Railways, a Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing machine was used for testing welds
•  A National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited lab was established at the site for weld testing,