Railway unveils ₹6.25-bn double-track bridges in Delhi

In an attempt to inject speed to train movement over the Yamuna and also decongest the Ghaziabad-New Delhi rail corridor, Indian Railways has proposed twin rail bridge projects over Yamuna River in the national capital involving combined investment of ₹6.25 billion. While the old Yamuna rail bridge -- also known as Loha Pul - will give way to a new double-line rail bridge at an investment worth ₹2 billion and another bridge is also set to come up near the existing Nizamuddin rail bridge to ensure faster and seamless movement of about 150 outbound and inbound passenger and freight services at an investment of ₹4.25 billion. Currently, train movement between Ghaziabad and New Delhi station takes more than an hour and sometimes even two hours due to over-congestion on the route, causing much inconvenience to passengers and that the proposed 600-metre bridge near the existing Nizamuddin rail bridge will provide an additional path for Delhi-bound services and ensure that trains negotiate the bridge at over 100 km per hour. As far as the replacement of the old Yamuna bridge is concerned, the 800-metre-long new double-line rail bridge will be built at an estimated cost of ₹2 billion and is expected to be operational by March next year.