South Coast Railway has achieved a major engineering milestone in the rehabilitation of the historic Godavari Bow String Arch Railway Bridge at Rajahmundry by successfully replacing 500 of the 672 corroded hanger cables, completing 74.4% of the critical work while maintaining uninterrupted train operations—a first-of-its-kind achievement in Indian Railways.
The rehabilitation of Bridge No. 248 on the busy Vijayawada–Visakhapatnam route also includes the completion of 20 out of 28 spans (71.4%) without disrupting passenger or freight services.
The ageing cables are being replaced with advanced, corrosion-resistant systems built to international standards, using high-strength PSC strands, four-layer corrosion protection and modern stressing technology developed with experts from Italy and technical support from IIT Mumbai.
To further enhance safety, South Coast Railway has introduced a state-of-the-art Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) featuring more than 272 smart sensors for 24x7 real-time monitoring of the bridge's structural behaviour, wind impact and environmental conditions, enabling predictive maintenance through a dedicated monitoring laboratory. Divisional Railway Manager Mohit Sonakiya said the successful replacement of 500 hanger cables while ensuring uninterrupted rail traffic reflects the engineering excellence and commitment of South Coast Railway's bridge teams.
Senior Divisional Engineer (Bridges) P. Sreenivasa Rao said the rehabilitation is being carried out under strict safety protocols with continuous structural monitoring to enhance the bridge's long-term safety, durability and heritage value. The project is being executed under an EPC contract and is on schedule for completion.
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