Meant to be the spine of the rail network of the nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project—has a first-of-its-kind Chenab Bridge and an iconic engineering structure on the Anji River – the Anji Khad bridge – the nation’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. Having already witnessed a successful trial run of the Vande Bharat train on January 25, 2025—the project now awaits the allocation of trains to ply on it. In this series’s third and final account, The Voices presents a journey down the Anji Bridge.
The bridge—suspended on 96 cables and 653 km long—is located in the seismic zone of the Himalayas Young Fold Mountains. The area has highly complex, fragile, and daunting geological features. The geographical contours paved the way for cable-stayed bridges, edging out the time-tested conventional bridges supported by pillars.
The Location
Anji Bridge was constructed in the Reasi district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the challenging Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project of Indian Railways. It is about 80 Km by road from Jammu and is the first cable-stayed bridge of Indian Railways. It connects Katra with Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir. Dotted with two tunnels, T2 and T3, on each end of the Katra-Banihal Section of the USBRL national project.
Talking Figuratively
The project boasts a unique figurative plan. Its total length is 725 metres, consisting of the main bridge having a length of 473.25 metres, the main span of 290 metres, an ancillary viaduct (approach viaduct on Reasi-end) of 120 metres length, the approach bridge of 38 metres on Katra-end and the central embankment of 94.25 metres length.
The Investigation
IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi conducted detailed site-specific investigations because the bridge is located in a seismic zone. The Young Fold mountains in the Himalayas are extremely complex, fragile, and daunting geological features, such as faults, folds, and thrusts.
The Design Criteria
The work for the detailed design and construction supervision (DDC) of the bridge had been assigned to the Italian Company ITALFERR (a company belonging to the Italian State Railways Group ‘Ferrovie dello Stato Italine’), and proof-checking was assigned to the company COWI, UK. The design has been based on Indian Codes integrated with Eurocodes, wherever necessary. The codes are sets of structural design standards to standardise designs of all types of structures in steel, concrete, timber, masonry, and aluminium.
Challenges Galore
Due to space constraints, a unique hybrid foundation on the Katra end has stabilised the mountain slopes, supporting one foundation for the main span of the Anji Bridge. Most of the bridge works were carried out on the Srinagar end, including the main pylon with a 40-metre-deep hybrid foundation, central embankment, and ancillary viaduct.
Bringing Anji to Life
Various unique techniques and equipment were used to increase efficiency, like DOKA Jump Form Shuttering and Pump Concreting System. It also provided higher safety for workers and saved construction time by about 30 per cent.
A state-of-the-art tower crane, (imported from Spain) of 40 tonnes capacity with extendable height up to 205 metres was used for enhancing the construction activities at heights up to 193 metres. The Anji Khad Bridge is said to have an integrated monitoring system comprising various sensors including anemometer for monitoring the variation in weather and wind speed that are installed at points on the bridge.
The Cable Labyrinth
Anji is an asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge balanced on the axis of a central pylon using 96 cables. The height of the single main pylon is 193 metres from the top of the foundation, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed. It has support for 96 cables having varying lengths from 82 metres to 295 metres. The micro piles of 40 metres depth all around the circumference of the 20 metres hybrid well foundation were used in the main pylon construction.
The Deck, The Track and The Train
The total deck width of Anji Bridge is 15 metres. The bridge carries a single railway line plus a 3.75 metres wide service road. A 1.5 metres wide footpath is on each side of the deck. The bridge is designed to handle heavy storms and strong winds. The design wind speed is considered to be 213 kmph. The line’s design is 100 kmph, a limit that does not pose problems for the train-structure interaction.
The Important Sensors
Sujoy Kumar, Dy. Chief Engineer (Bridges) Konkan Railways explained that many sensors are placed on it to monitor the bridge’s structural health during service. Because of the long span and the deep valley, tests in the wind tunnel were conducted to evaluate the aerodynamic actions (static aerodynamic coefficients) and investigate aeroelastic phenomena (galloping, fluttering, and vortex shedding).
People’s Voice
Dilip Kumar and other locals who have worked on the bridge in various capacities say that the construction of Anji has brought a great change that was long needed. Hamlets close to the bridge have received electric supply due to the construction of this bridge. They also have jobs closer to home and are hopeful that with the traffic of tourists from Katra exploring this side of the valley, they shall get new avenues for livelihood.
Hopeful for the Future
Nidhi Pandey Singh, Northern Railway’s Public Relations Officer, said the Anji Bridge has brought light to the valley. The Commissioner of Railway Safety Inspection and the trial run of Vande Bharat on the Chenab and Anji Bridges, which were also successfully completed, will connect Kashmir to the rest of the nation in just a few days.
Copy Editor: Vishnu Sharmaa