Chenab Bridge: Modi opens world's highest single-arch railway bridge in Kashmir

On his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the terror attack left 26 people dead in Pahalgam one and half months ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the world's highest railway arch bridge strategically placed across the Himalayan mountains.

Modi opened the bridge to the public at a function near the bridge in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The 1,315-metre-long (4,314-foot-long) steel and concrete structure that connects two mountains with an arch 359 metres above Chenab river is the world's highest railway arch bridge.

Standing several metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, the bridge is engineered to withstand 8 magnitude earthquake and wind conditions reflecting India's infrastructure dominance in high-risk zones, containing national security and strategic messaging to connect conflict regions to mainstream India.

While several road and pipeline bridges are higher, the Guinness Book of World Records confirms that Chenab trumps the previous highest railway bridge, the Najiehe in China.

The bridge will act as an infrastructure node in counter-terror and potential conflict planning located as it is near infiltration-prone Pir Panjal mountain range, facilitating swifter movement of security forces and equipment.

The bridge is part of the 272km railway line that begins in the garrison city of Udhampur. The railway line, constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 43,780 crore ($5.25 billion), includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119km) and 943 bridges, providing an all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been at the centre of a rivalry between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan which fought a four-day conflict in May before a ceasefire was agreed on. More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack on civilians in the Indian part of Kashmir that India accused Pakistan of backing, a charge Islamabad denied.