India is building the world’s highest railway bridge across a deep gorge of the Chenab River in India's Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Possibly inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's 1995 film Al di la delle nuvole (Beyond the Clouds), the railway bridge, which is 359 metres high (35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower) and being built between the villages of Bakkal and Kauri villages in the Reasi district, has been praised as a major step towards seamless railway connectivity to the Kashmir Valley.
Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, shared photos of the bridge on Monday that have now gone viral.
Showing how construction of the arch bridge is progressing, Vaishnaw said in his tweet: “The world’s highest arch - Chenab Bridge over the clouds.”
The bridge which can withstand a wind speed of more than 266kph was photographed with white voluminous clouds looming over the Chenab River, almost a quarter of a mile below.
The Railway Ministry also shared photos of the bridge standing tall against the picturesque mountains.
It said in a tweet in Hindi: “Chenab Railway Bridge - a prime example of marvellous engineering amidst the clouds. A spectacular view of the 359m-high Chenab Bridge being built over the Chenab River in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.”
With an overall length of 1,315 metres, the bridge has 17 spans, of which the main steel arch portion across the Chenab is 476 metres long.
The bridge, part of an ambitious railway project, will have a “security setup” against possible terror threats and quakes, railway officials promised in March last year.
It can also withstand earthquakes and high-intensity blasts up to a magnitude of 8.
The bridge forms the crucial link in the 111km stretch between Katra and Banihal - part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla section of the Kashmir Railway - project and is often dubbed the biggest civil engineering project undertaken by the Indian Railways.
The stunning photos of the structure over the clouds have got everyone talking online.