In a widely circulated video, a Mahindra Bolero car is seen transformed into a rail inspection vehicle and is being used to lead Ashwini Vaishnaw inspection trolleys across Jammu & Kashmir’s Chenab bridge, which is claimed to be the world’s highest railway arch bridge, on his recent site visit.
Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra group shared video posted by journalist Rajendra B. Aklekar on Twitter. Aklekar wrote, “So it was a Mahindra Bolero converted into a rail vehicle that was one of the first vehicles to run on the world’s tallest railway arch bridge at Chenab, J&K, leading the inspection trolleys of Ashwini Vaishnaw. The bridge at 359 m is taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.”
Mahindra praised this, writing, “They (videos) sum up why the founders of Mahindra decided to build off-road vehicles in independent India. They were meant to go where no paths existed & clear the way for others to follow.”
Track inspection trolleys are vehicles that move on railway tracks to examine infrastructure.
Here, a Mahindra Bolero is used as an inspection vehicle that moves alongside railway lines. The tyres on the Bolero have been modified with proper inflation. The use of guides attached to the rear provides for track alignment.
Bolero inspection trolley serves as an alternative to simple flat inspection cars for conducting visual surveys along the Chenab Bridge. It provides a safe and comfortable journey.
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Chenab bridge
The “world’s highest railway bridge,” a 1.3-kilometer-long span over the Chenab River, is being built by Indian Railways to connect the important Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramullah railway line.
On a recent site visit, union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The plan is to run Vande Bharat trains along the stretch and also Vande Metro trains between Jammu and Srinagar, which will reduce the travelling time between the two towns to 3.5 hours”. It takes roughly seven hours to travel via Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.