NEW DELHI: After 20 years of delay, work has finally begun to replace the rail link on the 167-year-old British era Yamuna bridge next to the protected Salimgarh Fort.
The link is important for the trains coming to Delhi from eastern and western parts of the country.
The new bridge, being built at a cost of Rs 200 crore, will ensure all-weather connectivity between Old Delhi and Shahdara railway stations. The iron bridge, known as ‘lohe ka pul’, is usually closed during monsoon every year as water levels in the Yamuna touch danger mark. The closure of the bridge affects routes of nearly 200 trains—both passenger and goods—per day.
This leads to cancellation of several passenger trains while mail and express trains are diverted to the already-congested New Delhi Railway Station.
“The work is expected to be completed by 2018-19. We have allotted it to a private agency and keeping in mind the monsoon season ahead, we are doing sub-structure fabrication work and it will pick up after August-September,” said a senior official of the Northern Railway.
The work on the project, sanctioned in 1997-98, started in 2004 but was stalled in 2007 after objections were raised by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over the proposed alignment that could damage parts of the Salimgarh Fort, which is also part of Red Fort complex declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Salimgarh Fort was built in 1546 AD by Salim Shah Suri, son of Sher Shah Suri.
“There have been issues since the start but now everything has been sorted. Some piers were laid when the work started in 2004 but over the period they are bent and need to be fixed. We are hopeful of completing the project in time and it will be a big relief to railways,” the official added.
The ASI cleared the project in 2012 after railways proposed changes in alignment and work was allotted to a company but tender was terminated for there were some issues between both the parties. The work has picked up after the new bidding was held last year.
The old bridge serves as an important connectivity for trains coming from Howrah, Mumbai and central India. “Railway was left with no option but to operate trains on the old bridge despite it being declared unfit. The operations halted during monsoon but continued rest of the year,” said a railway ministry official.
The old bridge is a double-storey structure with a road below the railway track. The new bridge, however, will only have rail tracks.
The Old Bridge
The Old Yamuna Bridge or ‘lohe ka pul’ made of iron girders was constructed in 1866 by East India Railways
It connects Old Delhi Railway Station with Shahdara Railway Station
The double-storey bridge has railway line and a road below which is in bad state
Monsoon Mayhem
The old bridge is closed during monsoon every year as water flow in the Yamuna crosses danger level
About 100 passenger trains connecting states, including Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, are impacted
While mail/express trains are diverted via New Delhi Railway Station, passenger trains are cancelled
There are nearly 100 goods trains that pass through the bridge
The New Project 870 metres Length of the new bridge
Work started in 2003 but had to be stopped in 2007 due to objections by ASI which claimed that it could damage the fort’s structure
ASI finally gave its approval in 2012 after alignment was changed by Northern Railways
The project was then stuck for tendering issues, and finally Northern Railways has zeroed in on a company and work has started
Salimgarh Fort
Built in 1546 AD by Salim Shah Suri, son of Sher Shah Suri
Protected by the Archaeological Survey of India which objected to the new rail bridge project