India's longest railway bridge will be at Kochi

The country's longest railway bridge, at 4.62 km, is fast nearing completion and will be opened in November, an official said here Saturday. The bridge, to connect the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam with Edapally near here, has been constructed in the Kochi backwaters.

G. Keshava Chandran, deputy general manager of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, said: 'The project cost for this mega bridge is estimated to be Rs.295 crore. The work began in May 2007 and is progressing on schedule.'

The bridge is a necessity for the proposed Rs.2,118 crore ICTT, billed as the country's first global hub terminal which is set to alter the development map of the state through huge investment in the coming years.

The ICTT project is set to launch a series of ventures including the Rs.1,600-crore LNG terminal, the port-based Special Economic Zone (Rs.1,510 crore), International Ship Repair complex (Rs.315 crore), SBM (single buoy moorings) for Kochi Refineries Ltd (Rs. 720 crore), Petro chemical complex for Gas Authority of India (Rs.7,000 crore), International bunkering terminal, bulk cargo terminals, cruise ship terminals and an international marina.

'Though there would be just one railway line at the moment, the foundation for two lines has been done. There would be no passenger traffic on this railway line, only container traffic to and from the IICT,' said Chandran


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Photo Credit : The Hindu