Security agencies conduct mock drill at Chenab bridge

Jammu: Multiple security agencies conducted a mock drill at the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's highest rail bridge and a critical infrastructure of the country, in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Tuesday, an official said.
Spanning over 1.3 kilometres, the bridge is a vital link in the 111-km stretch from Katra to Banihal, which forms part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla section of the Kashmir Railway project, officials said.
"The district police in Reasi, along with various security agencies, successfully conducted a full-scale mock drill at the Chenab Railway Bridge in Kouri, lasting over two hours," a police officer said.
Seven security agencies participated in the drill, including the Police, Special Operations Group (SOG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), General Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Village Defence Groups (VDG), the officer added.
Fire and Emergency Services, as well as medical teams, also were a part of the mock drill at Kouri.
The exercise was designed to assess the preparedness of the forces to respond quickly and effectively to potential threats from anti-national elements. "This was a proactive step to safeguard critical infrastructure," the officer said.
The Chenab bridge, an engineering marvel, is an arched steel and concrete structure connecting Baramulla to Jammu via the Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund route, with a travel time of approximately six-and-a-half hours, railway officials said.
Standing 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the bridge is designed to withstand a blast of up to 40 kg of TNT and an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. It can also endure winds of up to 260 km/h and has an estimated lifespan of 120 years.
Construction of the bridge began in 2002 but was halted in 2008-09 to address safety concerns for rail passengers due to high-velocity winds in the area. The project was completed in 2024.
On June 20 this year, Indian Railways successfully conducted a trial run of an eight-coach MEMU train on the Chenab bridge, paving the way for the start of rail services on the route from Reasi to Baramulla in Kashmir.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which includes the 48.1-km-long Banihal-Sangaldan section, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024.
Phase I of the project, covering the 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section, was inaugurated in October 2009 under the Congress-led UPA government. Subsequent phases included the inauguration of the 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25-km Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.