A Brief PPT on Chenab Railway Bridge, World Tallest Railway bridge.

1. A PRESENTATION
BY NILANJAN BAG

2. CONTENT
BASIC INFORMATION
IMPORTANT FACTS
DESIGN OF BRIDGE
GEOLOGY
CONSTRUCTION
STEEL AND CONCRETE DETAILS
CONCLUSION

3. BASIC INFORMATIONS
SITUATED IN REASI DISTRICT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
DESIGN – ARCH BRIDGE
MATERIAL USED – STEEL & CONCRETE
TOTAL LENGTH – 1315 METER
ARCH LENGTH – 480
LONGEST SPAN – 467 METER
ARCH SPAN – 467 METER
NUMBER OF SPANS – 17
HEIGHT – 359 METER [ RIVER BED TO FORMATION]
DEGREE OF INCLINATION – 43 TO 77

4. IMPORTANT FACTS
OFFICIAL PROJECT NAME : DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION OF
SPECIAL BRIDGE ACROSS THE RIVER CHENAB AT 50/800 ON THE
KATRA-LAOLE SECTION OF THE UDHAMPUR – SRINAGAR –
BARAMULLA RAIL LINK PROJECT
THE CLIENT : KONKAN RAILWAY CORPORATION LTD, INDIA
THE CONSTRUCTER : AFCONS INFRASTRUCTURE LTD, INDIA
ARCHITECT : WSP IN FINLAND WITH SUBCONSULTANT
LEONHARDT, ANDRA UND PARTNER, GERMANY
BRIDGE DECK CARRIES TWO RAILWAY TRACKS AND DRDO
MAKES IT WORLD FIRST BLAST-PROOF RAILWAY BRIDGE
ITS HEIGHT, ALMOST 29 METER MORE THAN EIFFEL TOWER (330
METER), MAKES IT THE WORLD HIGHEST RAILWAY BRIDGE AND
TOTAL COST IS AROUND 1486 CRORE AFTER COMPLETION

5. - AS MANY AS 3200 PEOPLE WORKED ON CONSTRUCTION OF
THIS CHALLENGING ICONIC BRIDGE TO MAKE IT ONE OF A
MARVEL OF INDIA

6. DESIGN OF BRIDGE
THE DESIGN SPEED OF RAILWAY OS SET TO BE 100 KM/H
WIND LOAD CORRESPONDS TO MAXIMUM WIND PRESSURE OF
1500 PASCAL AND WIND SPEED UP TO 266 KMPH
THE BRIDGE IS DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND EARTHQUAKE FORCES
OF THE HIGHEST INTENSITY ZONE-V [MAGNETUDE 8]
THE DESIGN LIFE OF THE BRIDGE SHOULD BE 120 YEARS
FATIGUE ASSESMENT HAS TO BE DONE AS PER BS:5400 PART – 10
THE SUPERSTRUCTURE IS A PLATE GIRDER WITH A CLOSED
DECK, WHERE RAILS ARE CONNECTED
THE CLOSED DECK KEEPS THE RAINWATER OUT AND PROVIDES
MOSTLY DRY ENVIRONMENT BELOW THE DECK

7. GEOLOGY
THE CHENAB BRIDGE IS LOCATED IN THE TRICKIEST SECTION OF
THE JAMMU–UDHAMPUR–SRINAGAR–BARAMULLA RAIL ROUTE,
WHERE THE TYPICAL GEOLOGY CONSISTS OF YOUNG HIMALAYAN
ROCK
THE SITE COMPRISES OF SHIWALIKS AND PRETERTIARY ROCKS
AND THE MAIN SUB-TYPE OF ROCKS COMPRISES OF DOLOMITE
AND LIMESTONE
SOME OF PIER LOCATIONS COMPRISE QUARTZITE AND SHALE
ROCKS AND THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT SHEAR ZONES OR CAVITIES
IN BOTH THE ABUTMENTS
TOP LAYERS OF THE ROCKS AT ABUTMENTS ARE HIGHLY
FRACTURED AND REPRESENT A BLOCKY MASS
HOWEVER, THE BOTTOM LAYERS OF ROCKS ARE STABLE AND
STRONG ENOUGH FOR A GOOD FOUNDATION

8. CONSTRUCTION
FIRSTLY, THE FOUNDATION AND SLOPE STABILIZATION WORKS
ARE STARTED AND A TOTAL OF 18 PIERS WERE CONSTRUCTED
AFTER ERECTION OF THE MAIN PIERS BY CABLE CRANE , THE
DECK IS LAUNCHED UP THE AXES OF SUPPORT S40 AND S50
THE DERRICK CRANE IS PLACED ON TOP OF THE DECK TO
LOWER THE ARCH SEGMENTS FROM DECK LEVEL TO THE
ERECTION FRONT OF THE ARCH
THE ERECTION PROCESS OF THE DECK AND THE ARCH
PROCEEDS SIMULTANEOUSLY UP TO A MAXIMUM CANTILEVR
LENGTH OF 48 METER
WHEN THE NEXT ARCH PIER SUPPORT WOULD BE REACHED,
TEMPORARY CABLES SET UP TO SUPPORT CONSTRUCTED ARCH

9. STRUCTURAL PLAN OF THE
CHENAB BRIDGE
USE OF DERRICK AND CABLE
CRANE IN ARCH CONSTRUCTION

10. AFTER THAT, THE NEW ARCH PIER IS CONSTRUCTED USING
CABLE CRANES ON THE FREE END AND THIS PROCESS IS
CONTINUED UNTILL THE LAST PIER OF ARCH IS
CONSTRUCTED
THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND THE ARCH WILL BRIEFLY FORM
A TRUSS GIRDER, CANTILEVERING OUT FROM ARCH
ABUTMENT
THE FINAL SEGMENT OF THE ARCH IS CONSTRUCTED USING
A CABLE CRANE AND TWO HALVES OF THE ARCH IS ADJUSTED
USING HYDRAULIC JACKS BEFORE THE FINAL CONNECTION
FINALLY, THE TEMPORARY CABLES ARE REMOVED AND THE
FINAL CONNECTIONS WILL BE MADE

11. STEEL & CONCRETE DETAILS
TEKLA SOFTWARE IS EMPLOYED FOR DETAILING USING
STRUCTURAL STEEL SUITABLE FOR -20°C TO 40°C
CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE REQUIRED 25000 TON OF
STEEL & 4000 TON OF REINFORCED STEEL AND TO ENHANCE
SAFETY & SECURITY, THE BRIDGE IS MADE OF 63MM-THICK
SPECIAL BLAST-PROOF STEEL
TOTAL OF 46000m3 CONCRETE WAS REQUIRED AND THE MAIN
CHORD MEMBERS WERE FILLED WITH SELF – COMPACTING
CONCRETE FOR ENHANCING OVERALL STIFFNESS AND
ROBUSTNESS
BOTH ENDS OF THE BRIDGE HAS BEEN CONNECTED WITH
THE HELP OF HIGH STRENGTH FRICTION GRIP (HSFG) BOLTS
AND IT IS MARKED AS GOLDEN JOINT
EIGHT MILLION CUBIC METRES OF EXCAVATION WAS DONE
AND THE BRIDGE WILL BE PAINTED WITH A SPECIAL
CORROSION-RESISTANT PAINT, WHICH LASTS FOR 15 YEARS

12. CONCLUSION
THE BRIDGE WAS CONSTRUCTED IN ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED
AND ISOLATED TERRAINS. ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES
INVOLVED WAS CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGE WITHOUT OBSTRUCTING
THE FLOW OF CHENAB RIVER.
THE PROJECT WAS APPROVED IN DECEMBER 2003 AND AFTER
18 YEARS THE BRIDGE WAS COMPLETED AND INAUGURATED ON 13TH
AUGUST 2022. LAYING OF RAILWAY TRACKS WAS STARTED IN
FEBRUARY 2023 AND THE BRIDGE ALONG WITH THE ENTIRE ROUTE IS
EXPECTED TO BECOME OPERATIONAL BY THE JANUARY 2024.
THE BRIDGE WILL SURELY BOOST THE REGION’S INDUSTRIAL AND
AGRICULTURAL SECTORS BY ALLOWING ALL–WEATHER
CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE VALLY AND REST OF INDIA.
REFERENCE : 1. theconstructor.org
2. seminarsonly.com
3. wsp.com