Vande Bharat Express hits 100 kmph on Chenab and Anji bridges

Speed Milestone

The Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express successfully ran at 100 kmph while crossing the Chenab Bridge and the Anji Bridge. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the update on X, calling it a historic day for the rail network in Jammu and Kashmir. The test took place on October 2 after the maximum speed limit on the 111-km Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Banihal section was raised from 75 kmph to 100 kmph. Train numbers 26401 and 26404 were used for this test run. This speed increase is expected to make train operations smoother and cut down travel time on the Katra-Banihal section, which is a key part of the USBRL project linking the Jammu region with the Kashmir Valley.

Bridge Engineering

The Chenab Rail Bridge stands 359 metres above the riverbed and is 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. The steel arch bridge stretches 1,315 metres across the Chenab River and is built to handle extreme weather, wind speeds up to 260 kmph, and has a 120-year lifespan. The Anji Bridge is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge and sits south of the Chenab on the Katra-Banihal section. Located about 80 km from Jammu city, it towers 331 metres above the riverbed and spans 725 metres. An inverted Y-shaped pylon rises 193 metres to support 96 high-tensile cables, using 653 km of cable strands in total.

Train Operations

Two pairs of Vande Bharat services currently run on the 266-km corridor. The service started with eight coaches, but high passenger demand led to 16 more coaches being added earlier this year, making a total of 20 coaches. The Integral Coach Factory in Chennai built these trains to run in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Context

Major railway projects in difficult mountain terrain require extensive engineering feats like high bridges and tunnels to connect remote regions. The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project aims to provide all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. Higher train speeds on these newly opened routes help improve regional mobility and passenger transit times.