New Delhi: The new railway bridge being built parallel to the historic iron bridge on the Yamuna river in Delhi is now in its final stage. This project, pending for about three decades, was to be inaugurated in September, but now it will be delayed. The construction work of the bridge is almost complete and now only interlocking and inspection by Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is left. At present, the inspection has been postponed due to rising water level in Yamuna. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can inaugurate this much-awaited bridge in the last week of October or in November.
Northern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay said that almost all the work of the new railway bridge being built on the Yamuna river is complete. CRS will inspect after the water level of the Yamuna river decreases. Regular train operations will start after inspection and trial. Let us tell you that this is the third railway bridge on the Yamuna river and its construction has cost more than Rs 200 crore. This is why the new bridge built on Yamuna is important: There are already two railway bridges on the Yamuna river in Delhi. The oldest ‘iron bridge’ was built by the British in the year 1866. Trains run on this historic bridge and road traffic runs below. Now it has become old. Due to security reasons, the speed of trains on this bridge has been limited to 15-20 kilometers per hour. Due to the low height of the bridge, the water level reaches the bridge during floods. Due to this, the speed of trains has to be slowed down further.
Use of modern technology in the new bridge: According to officials, modern technology has been used in the new bridge. It is capable of bearing heavy and high-speed trains. As soon as this bridge opens, both the speed and capacity of trains will increase. Especially trains going towards Purvanchal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will get relief. Also, travel time will be reduced. After the new bridge is operational, trains will get a direct route from Old Delhi Station. It took a long time to build the bridge: The plan to build this bridge was made in 1997-98, but the construction work started in the year 2003. The work kept getting delayed due to lack of approval from several agencies including the Archaeological Survey of India, design changes and technical difficulties. It was to be completed by 2016, then the target kept increasing to 2018, 2020 and 2023. Finally, now the railways claim that the bridge will be fully operational by October or November 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it: The railways have made preparations to get this modern and much-awaited bridge inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Officials say that it will be presented at the national level in a grand manner. It will give new strength to the railway network not only of Delhi but of the entire North India.
