Let’s explore all the engineering secrets behind the Chenab bridge – the tallest rail bridge in the world in this video. The Chenab Rail Bridge, is a steel and concrete arch bridge carrying a single-track railway line, located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of the Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Chenab Rail Bridge was designed as a large span single arch steel bridge with approach viaducts on either side.
source.image: Sabin Civil Engineering
The arch is two-ribbed, fabricated from large steel trusses. The chords of the trusses are sealed steel boxes, internally stiffened and filled with concrete to assist in controlling wind-induced forces on the bridge. The number of bearings has been minimized, particularly on the approach viaduct, through the use of continuous construction. This is advantageous, as it reduces the maintenance and inspection efforts, and improves the riding quality. Watch the video from Sabin Civil Engineering for more info:
The viaduct piers are of concrete, while the piers near the arch are Indian construction standards such as the Indian Railway Standards (IRS), the Indian Road Congress (IRC) and the Indian Standards (IS) were found inadequate for the large spans of the Chenab Bridge. For example, the Indian Railway Standards (IRS) is primarily intended for simply supported bridges with spans up to 100m (although these have been successfully used for higher spans up to 154m).
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The spans for the Chenab Rail Bridge greatly exceed this limit, and are continuous. Therefore, to assure a safe design, Indian national standards have been supplemented with International standards such as British Standards (BS), International Union of Railways (UIC) and Euro. Also, many global experts with versatile and relevant experience, have been involved in order to facilitate making the project a success.
