Vande Bharat sets 100 kmph record over Chenab Bridge
Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced that Vande Bharat Express has set a new record by crossing the world’s highest railway bridge, the Chenab Bridge, and India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, the Anji Bridge, at 100 km/h on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL).
In a post on X, the Railways Minister shared a video of Vande Bharat Express crossing the Chenab bridge.
“100 km/h over India’s engineering pride”, wrote the Railways Minister. “The maximum permissible speed on the 111-km-long Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Banihal section has been increased from 75 kmph to 100 kmph,” Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal said in a statement here in Jammu.
The upgrade is expected to make train operations on the USBRL smoother, cut travel time, and offer passengers a faster, safer, and more comfortable journey.
The 111-km Katra-Banihal section is a crucial and technically challenging component of the USBRL project, which is aimed at providing seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.
The Railway Ministry approved the enhancement of the maximum permissible speed to 100 kmph after all prescribed safety conditions were complied with by the Railways in August this year, officials said.
Earlier, trains were permitted to operate at a maximum speed of 85 kmph on the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Sangaldan section and 75 kmph on the Sangaldan-Banihal section.
The Katra-Banihal section traverses some of the most difficult and rugged terrain of the Pir Panjal and lower Himalayan ranges, involving deep valleys, steep mountain slopes, major rivers and highly complex geological formations.
The section has some of the country’s most prestigious and challenging engineering structures, including the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, constructed over the Chenab River near Reasi, and the Anji Khad Railway Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge.
The section also has 33 tunnels.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra on June 6, 2025.
