Viral video: Did India conduct a 'train test run' on world's highest railway bridge?

A video of a train crossing a bridge over a valley in China has been viewed tens of thousands of times in social media posts that falsely claim it shows a trial run on the "world's highest railway track" in Indian-administered Kashmir. The video actually shows the Beipanjiang railway bridge in Guizhou, near to the province's border with Yunnan.

The video was viewed more than 273,000 times after being shared on Facebook on March 24, 2023.

The post's caption reads: "#Congratulations India!

"Successful small train test run was conducted on 21 March on world's highest railway track under construction on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link on Chenab river in JammuAndKashmir".

The Chenab Railway Bridge — set to open next year — will be built at an altitude of about 359 metres (1,178 feet) above the riverbed, which its developers claim will make it the highest railway bridge in the world.

Once completed, it will connect Indian-administered Kashmir by rail with the rest of the country. India’s Ministry of Railways shared pictures of the partially completed bridge here on March 28.

Here's a photo of the actual bridge under construction:

The video of a train crossing a bridge has been shared in various Facebook and Twitter posts. But this clip, in fact, shows a railway bridge in China — not India.

Chinese bridge

A reverse image search on Google using a keyframe from the video found the same clip published in a Facebook post on June 27, 2022.

The post's caption reads: "Beipan River Bridge, Guizhou."

According to the Chinese state-owned newspaper Guizhou Daily Press, the Beipanjiang railway bridge is located above the Beipanjiang river valley in southwest China's Guizhou province.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the video shared in the 2022 Facebook post (right):

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