New Delhi:A day after announcing the formation of a five-member panel to examine safety concerns about the new Pamban Bridge, India's first vertical lift railway sea bridge, which will replace the existing 105-year-old bridge, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday described the bridge as a "modern engineering marvel."
In a series of posts on X, he mentioned its features along with a stunning nocturnal image of the bridge. "The New Pamban Bridge: A modern engineering marvel!," Vaishnaw said in a post on X. India's first vertical-lift bridge connecting the country's mainland with Rameswaram island, has become the cynosure of all eyes these days despite its challenge for the Railways besides its mechanical peculiarity and a rough sea.
He also talked about its scopes and prospects. "The new #PambanBridge, coupled with the upgraded Rameswaram Railway Station (under construction), will enhance tourism, trade, and connectivity for this historic island." He also mentioned the New Pamban Bridge as a "symbol of progress, connecting people and places with modern engineering."
The minister also provided an overview. The old Pamban Rail Bridge, in operation since 1914, was decommissioned in December 2022 due to corrosion. "Built in 1914, the old Pamban Rail Bridge connected the mainland to Rameswaram for 105 years. Decommissioned in Dec 2022 due to corrosion, it paved the way for the modern New Pamban Bridge, marking a new era of connectivity!” he wrote.
Vaishnaw also drew a comparison between the old and the new bridges, saying the old bridge had a manual Scherzer lift span, single track, and limited to low-speed trains, with an air clearance of 19 metres. On the other hand, the new fully automated vertical lift span offers a safer 22-metre clearance, supports double tracks and electrification, and is designed for high-speed trains.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Circle, recently inspected the bridge as per norms and pointed out certain deficiencies with a direction to rectify these before starting passenger as well as freight train operations. The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which is constructing this 2.08-km-long bridge, faces a huge challenge in moving a lift span, which is 72.5-m-long, 16-m-wide and weighs 550 tonne, from the Rameshwaram end to 450 m in the sea to fix it to the bridge.
“We started moving this lift span on March 10 and till date, we have moved the 550 ton lift span 80 m towards the centre of the bridge. The biggest challenge is the 2.65 degree of curved alignment of the bridge. Had it been straight, we would have moved it faster,” a senior official of RVNL earlier said, adding the curved shape was essential due to various alignment changes.
