Katni in Madhya Pradesh will have India’s longest railway bridge, 14 km on the up line, almost three and half times longer than Vembanad rail bridge in Kerala that connects Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi and is 4.62 km long. Called Katni grade separator, down line of the bridge would be of 7 km. Its total length would be 21 km up and down side.

Project received clearance from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently along with other railway projects. Design and survey of the bridge has been completed and it will take 5 years for completion.Both goods and passenger trains would be benefitted from the bridge that would be equipped with digital signalling and maintained online. Currently, due to traffic congestion, goods trains are cleared only after for 2 to 4 hours via new Katni junction. Once the bridge is complete, trains that don’t halt at Katni junction can pass directly through the bridge and head towards Bina.

Did You Know?

Vembanad rail bridge was built over the backwaters of Vembanad lake in Kerala by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) in 28 months at a cost of around Rs 200 crore.