Fact Check: Did A Train Trial Happen On J&K’s Chenab Bridge?

by Shreya Rathod
Fact Check: Did A Train Trial Happen On J&K’s Chenab Bridge?

A stable mode of transport is necessary for the growth of a country — for both the economy and connectivity purposes. It ensures that citizens can travel within the country without any trouble. And the government of India is taking every necessary step to implant a better mode of transport throughout the city. The Chenab Rail Bridge is an example of this effort. The authorities had proposed this concrete and steel arch bridge to connect Kauri and Bakkal. We came across rumours of a train test being conducted there and sought to access the truth.

Train Trial Run

The Chenab Rail Bridge is the World’s Highest Rail Bridge and spans the river Chenab at a height of 1,178 feet. Though this is one of the biggest projects for India, there are some facts about its construction that needs to be addressed. Recently, there were rumours of a train trial being conducted on this rail bridge and it was going viral on Twitter. And not to mention that some prominent personalities and accounts were tweeting this. Well, the video being shared is of the Beipanjiang Railway Bridge in China and not India’s Chenab Rail Bridge.

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However, the Ministry of Railways has not stated or mentioned any trial run. In fact, the said trial run was conducted on the USBRL, that is the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link.

Chenab Rail Bridge Construction Details

The Chenab Rail Bridge project was approved in December 2003 and was supposed to be completed in 2009. However, due to the fear of stability, the construction was halted. It was in August 2010 that the authorities restarted the project and in November 2018, the construction of this rail bridge was being carried out in full force. The April of 2021 witnessed the completion of both ends of the bridge’s arch.

With ninety per cent of the work completed in June 2022, the bridge was inaugurated on August 13th 2022. But the tracks weren’t ready and the work was started in February 2023. The Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted about the start of track-laying work on the Chenab Rail Bridge. As of now, the tracks are laid and the rail bridge will soon witness a train trial.

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So, this was the truth about the viral train trial video.

Cover Image Courtesy: Northern Railways/ Twitter