Barge rams into iconic Pamban rail bridge in Tamil Nadu

A barge rammed against century old Pamban bridge in Tamil Nadu but the structure did not suffer any damage. The rail bridge commissioned in 1914 connects Rameswaram island with the mainland and remained only mode of connectivity till 1988. Indian railways is constructing a parallel rail bridge and the barge involved in the accident on Saturday was part of the construction fleet.

Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu):A barge that crossed iconic Pamban bridge rammed against the structure due to sudden change in the wind on Saturday afternoon. The Pamban bridge was opened on Saturday to allow the barge and a couple of mechanized trawlers to cross sailing from the South to Northern direction. The tug hauled barge came in contact with a pillar on which the Scherzer lift span was mounted. The workers operating the span ran for their lives after the barge rammed against the pillar. Fortunately, the structure did not suffer any damage, an official said.

The barge rammed against another marooned country boat after crossing the Pamban bridge. The incident caused tension in the area as the local fishermen recalled the 2013 incident in which a naval barge rammed against the bridge, causing structural damage.

Commissioned on Feb. 14, 1914, the 2.06 kilometer iron girder bridge connects Rameswaram island with the mainland and it was the only connectivity to Rameswaram till the road bridge was constructed in 1988. The double-leaf bascule section with a Scherzer rolling type lift span of the bridge is opened manually every time a vessel has to cross the the rail bridge.

Indian Railways is constructing a parallel railway bridge across the sea stretch to decommission the hundred-year old structure and the barge involved in the accident was stationed in the sea for the construction works.

On Jan.12, 2013, a naval bridge bound to Karwar got snapped of its anchor when its tug ran aground and rammed against the 121st pillar of Pamban bridge. The pillar suffered damage and train traffic had to be suspended on the bridge till the structure was repaired.

At present, train traffic on the bridge was suspended on June 16 after a sensor monitoring the health of the iron bridge went off. Though the train traffic resumed intermittently, it was suspended again after the sensor developed a snag. Local residents urged railway authorities to fix the snag and commence train traffic to Rameswaram soon.

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