Anji Khad Bridge

Anji Khad Bridge is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge — a critical structure on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), the project that finally provided rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley after 27 years of construction. The bridge spans the Anji Khad (a tributary of the Chenab) at a depth of 331 m below the deck, using a single asymmetric pylon 193 m tall.

The asymmetric cable-stayed design was chosen because the local geology — fractured Himalayan slate on one side, hard quartzite on the other — made a symmetric two-pylon design impractical. The single pylon is anchored into the more competent quartzite face with 80 m deep rock anchors. Ninety-six stay cables (each up to 295 m long) hang the deck from the pylon top.

Design challenges included Zone V seismic exposure, 213 km/h design wind speed, and the requirement to carry both freight (25-tonne axle) and passenger trains. WSP Finland led the structural design with IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi providing seismic and geotechnical input. HCC executed the construction with Korean expertise on the pylon-launching system.

The bridge opened in March 2024 as part of the USBRL final commissioning. It carries the Banihal-Sangaldan section of the Jammu-Baramulla railway, providing the first all-weather rail access to the Kashmir Valley.