You use Indian Railway for journey. You enjoy beautiful scenes and see your train changing tracks, and all of a sudden train sound changes a bit. You peek out of window and see that half of the train is over a bridge.

We can't vouch for all but we know many people has this thought in mind how safe is this railway bridge? Especially when train shakes a bit, lot more questions and thoughts start to pop up in head regarding railway bridges.

We are going to discuss about Indian Railway bridges here. Some known/ unknown facts.

Do you know how many railway bridges are there in India?

As of April 1, 2018 the total number of bridges in Indian Railway stands at 147253.

The bridges are categorized into 3 categories:-

1. Important Bridges: Railway bridges over 300 meter in length or those bridges which cover a total of 1000 sq metre of waterway (river, nallah, stream) come in this category. Apart from these, bridges which are earmarked as important by chief bridge engineers or principal chief engineer in terms of having problems, requiring more maintenance than others, and depth of waterway/ extent of river training works also come under this category. There are 700 of these important railway bridges.

2. Major Bridge: These are bridges of 18 metre or more length and have an opening of 12 meter or more in any one span. There are 12085 such major bridges.

3. Minor Bridge: Railway bridges which do not fall in above category  are called minors. There are 134768 of these kind.

The above figure does not include Road Over Bridges (ROBs) which allow traffic to pass over underlying railway tracks. Also Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) which are set up at railway stations for common public to move from one platform to other are not considered as railway bridges.

However, It is interesting to note that Railway Under Bridges are considered as railway bridges as train pass over them.

Basically we can say that bridges that are meant for train movement and which in direct contact of railway tracks are called "Railway Bridges".

Coming back to thoughts popping up in mind about the reliability of a bridge as a train pass over it, the age of bridge is something that one really wants to know. Generally the newer the bridge, people perceive it to be much safer than the older bridge.

When train approaches really old bridges and if they tend to go slow as they move over it, few people start praying. There is some sort of fear. They think it may collapse. You also must have seen it.

How many railway bridges in India are over 100 years old?

This might shock you. There are 37689 railway bridges which are over 100 years old. Among these 6680 are over 140 years old. These are grandpa bridges. One can say that India railway has done good job of maintaining them.

Actually age of bridge doesn't really have a direct relevance with bridge safety. Regular rehabilitation and strengthening work is part of railway routine and it is done whenever it is required. In last 6 years 4000 bridges have been strengthened as per railway sources.

Given the fact that these old bridges are really old, Do these old bridges have capacity to withstand the load and heavy traffic of modern era? Answer is same as above, bridges are upgraded, maintained, and undergo strengthening whenever need arise.

Which is the oldest railway bridge in India?
Though its not crystal claer, the Dapoorie Viaduct (near Pune), built in 1858, by Great Indian Peninsular Railway is considered as the oldest railway bridge in India.

Is there any Inspection done on railway bridges in India?
Yes, as per our information all bridges are inspected by a team of engineers twice a year. One before the monsoons and next after the monsoon rainfall.

Which is the longest railway bridge in India?

Vembanad Rail Bridge is a rail connecting Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi, Kerala. With a total length of 4,620 metres, it is the longest railway bridge in India.

Which is the shortest railway bridge in India?

Well, this is homework for you. Go over all 147253 bridges and measure their length. Arrange them in spreadsheet and sort in ascending order of length. The topmost will be the shortest railway bridge. 😀

Which is the highest/tallest railway bridge in India?
Chenab railway bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest railway bridge in world, not just in India. The height from river bed (bottom of river) is 359 m (1179 ft) and height above river surface is 322 m (1056 ft).

Which are popular sea bridges in India over which train runs?

The Pamban rail bridge which connects Rameshwaram island and the mainland in Tamil Nadu was India’s first sea bridge and the longest . Now Mumbai’s sea link bridge (not a railway bridge) takes the honor of longest sea link bridge. But the under construction new Mumbai Trans Harbor bridge will take over mumbai sea link too with length of 21.8 kms.

Which railway bridge was filmed in Chennai Express movie?
The railway bridge filmed in Chennai Express movies is known more by the name of Dudhsagar Waterfalls. This bridge is located  over Mandovi River in Goa. The Dudhsagar railway trek has been officially closed for the general public. But you can still visit the bottom of the falls.
Prettiest railway bridges on Indian Railway network?

How to decide prettiest one? Beauty lies in the eye of beholder. Yet, The 13-arch Aryankavu bridge, nearly 110 years old, at Kazhathuruthi, near Punalur, Kerala, on the Kollam–Sengottai branch line that meanders through thick jungles and hills, is considered one of the prettiest rail bridge in India.
We will add more to this as we gather more interesting information about bridges in Indian Railway. If you knew nothing about railway bridges in India, now you know plenty, for sure.

Don't forget to share among your friends. Thanks!

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