The world’s tallest railway bridge can now be found in India. Standing at 29 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower, the Chenab Bridge spans 359 meters above the Chenab River in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. After years of construction, the bridge is set to open to the public by the end of December 2023 or January 2024.
The construction of the 1,315 meter-long (4,314 feet) bridge is part of a larger initiative to enhance accessibility to the Kashmir Valley through the Indian Railway network. Alongside the Chenab Bridge, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project includes the construction of the country’s longest transportation tunnel and Indian Railways’ inaugural cable bridge.
For India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who assumed office in 2014 with a platform centered on nationalism and a vision of a prosperous future, investments in infrastructure such as the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project serve as a potent means of fostering social integration and exerting political influence by connecting disparate regions with major cities.
“The bridge and the enhanced connectivity it aims to establish will be portrayed by New Delhi as yet another significant triumph for the region’s development,” remarked Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.
According to experts, the industrial and agricultural sectors in Kashmir will receive a significant boost with the introduction of train connectivity to the rest of India. Previously, the only land route was the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, which is often closed during winter and prone to accidents. Anil Kumar Mehendru, vice president of the New Kashmir Fruit Association, stated that train connectivity will greatly benefit the industry, agriculture, and fruit sectors.