Mahindra Bolero Becomes One Of First Vehicles To Ride On World’s Tallest Chenab Railway Bridge In J&K

The Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is truly a marvel of modern engineering in India. At 359 metres, the arch bridge is around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel tower, and its massive 1.3-km length makes it a spectacle to behold. It seems that trains could soon start plying on the bridge, as a Mahindra Bolero has become one of the first vehicles to run on the bridge over the Chenab river valley as part of the bridge’s testing phase. 

Specially modified, rail-road Mahindra Bolero 

You gave me a great start to the day with your post, @rajtoday 🙏🏽 I will treasure these images. They sum up why the founders of @MahindraRise decided to build off-road vehicles in independent India. They were meant to go where no paths existed & clear the way for others to… https://t.co/lts9OzP17s

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 28, 2023

This particular Mahindra Bolero is a service and inspection vehicle that has been converted to run on a broad-gauge railway track, which is 1,676mm (five feet, six inches) wide. To put down power to the rails, the rear-wheel-drive Bolero has a wider track (the space between tyres on the same axle) at the front and rear. It also has an extra set of tiny rail wheels mounted to the chassis at the front and rear for added support and stability. The rail wheels can be retracted using hydraulic arms, allowing the SUV to be used as a regular, road-going vehicle.

Being a conventional SUV, the service vehicle offers comfortable seating for five alongside a pair of jump seats in the third row. The modified rail-road Mahindra Bolero rides on road-spec rubber tyres that allow seamless usage on the road or railway track. 

Does the Bolero have enough power for the railway? 

The Bolero has a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine good for 75PS and 210Nm. Steel rails offer lower friction and rolling resistance than an asphalt road surface which should make it easy for the Bolero to put down its 75 horses to the railway track. That said, service vehicles are restricted to slow speeds on the track as they are mainly used for testing purposes. 

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The Chenab Rail Bridge has been built to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and high wind speeds during storms. It’ll surely be a boon for connectivity between the serviceable cities, Udhampur and Baramulla, and we can’t wait to see it begin operations.