Chenab railway bridge

About Chenab railway bridge:

• The Chenab Rail Bridge, also known as the Chenab Arch Bridge, is a concrete arch bridge being built over the Chenab River in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
•  It will be the highest railway bridge in the world, with a height of 359 meters above the riverbed.
• The length of the Chenab bridge will be 1,315 meters with 17 spans, of which the span of the main arch across the Chenab river will be 467m.
• The bridge will have a design speed of 100 Km/hr and a lifespan of 120 years.
• It is designed to withstand Zone-V earthquakes, 266 Km/hr wind speed, and high-intensity blasts.
• It forms a crucial link on the 111km stretch from Katra to Banihal, which is part of the ₹21,653 crores Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project intended to provide all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. 

Q1) What is the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project?

The USBRL is a National project undertaken by the Indian Railways for construction of broad-gauge railway line through the Himalayas, with the aim of connecting the Kashmir region with the rest of the country.