In the late 1970s, the Government of India planned to establish a railway line to connect Jammu with the Kashmir valley.

The line would connect Kashmir with the rest of the Indian railway network and aid in the economic activity of the region.

[1][2][3] It would also serve as a strategic link to the Kashmir region all round the year as the road is often cut off by snowfall during winters.

[9] Meanwhile, a survey was conducted in 1997 to study the feasibility for extending the railway line from Udhampur to Srinagar in the valley.

[6][7] The line would have to pass through the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas,[5] which necessitated multiple tunnels and bridges.

[1][3][8] The line between Katra and Srinagar necessitated a crossing of a deep gorge formed by the Chenab River.

[1][10][11] A high altitude rail bridge was approved to cross the river between Kauri and Bakkal, about 23 km (14 mi) north of Katra.

[8] The super structure consists of 161 girder plates each of 8 m (26 ft) length and 8 mm (0.31 in) thickness.

[1][2][15] The bridge was designed to withstand earthquakes up to a magnitude of eight on the Richter scale, high-intensity blasts equivalent to about 40 tonnes of TNT, temperatures up to −20 °C (−4 °F) and wind speeds of up to 266 km/h (165 mph).

[15][17][18] Though the project was initially slated for completion by 2009,[11] construction was halted in late 2008 due to concerns with the safety and stability of the bridge.

[34] Full scale trial runs across the entire line commenced in June 2024, and expected date to be opened for traffic pushed to late 2024.

[11] Specially designed high strength friction grip bolts were used for joining the two ends of the bridge arches.

[4][11] Due to limited connectivity, workshops were set up at select locations on either side of the river valley.