Kashmir to be connected with rest of India through rail by Dec 2021

Kashmir will be connected to rest of the country through Railway network by December next year as the government has set a fresh deadline for completion of the world's highest Railway bridge. The Rail line is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. Konkan Railway has said, it was most challenging project in the post-independent history of Indian Railways. 

Konkan Railway Chairman Sanjay Gupta has said, construction of this bridge is the most challenging part of Kashmir Rail Link Project undertaken in post-independence era and once completed, it



will be an engineering marvel. The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed in hostile terrain, which will consume over 5,462 tonnes of steel and will be 359 metres above the river bed. 

Designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 kilometres per hour, the 1.315 km-long engineering marvel will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar). The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-kilometre stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project.