Ramanathapuram: An engineering marvel by the Indian Railways, the New Pamban Bridge has been completed on a grand scale to connect the island of Rameswaram with the Indian mainland. The vertical lift bridge, set up to allow ships to pass through the sea unimpeded, has been set up for the first time in the middle of the sea at a height of 17 metres for Rs 550 crore.
Commissioner of Railway Safety (South Zone) A M Chaudhary said inspections were conducted on November 13 and 14. During the inspection, he walked through various parts of the bridge and examined its construction. Following that, he inspected the lifting system in the middle of the bridge and the trial run of a high-speed train from Mandapam to Rameswaram.
Madurai DRM Sarath Srivatsava said, "We have inspected the foundation construction of the new Pamban railway bridge. Also, the operational test of the lifting system has been carried out. All existing features have been thoroughly explored. Similarly, a test run was also conducted from Mandapam to Rameswaram at a speed of 90 kmph which took 15 minutes. The old railway bridge, which is now abandoned, is dilapidated and unfit for transport. A decision will be taken to make it a national monument".
History of Pamban Bridge
Pilgrims used to take boats to reach Rameswaram Island from Mandapam till the time of the Sethupati kings. During British rule, the railway bridge was built to connect Mandapam with Rameswaram in 1911. Rameswaram saw developments in a big way due to the influx of tourists through the traffic through this bridge. Afterwards, a bridge, constructed at Pamban for road traffic, was opened in 1988. Although a separate bridge was built for road transport, train travel was also available parallelly. The railway bridge developed frequent rusting and breakdown due to the moisture-laden sea breeze and increasing maintenance costs.
The co-spanning structure that allows shipping between the railway bridge and the occasional repair has hampered the day-to-day operation of the bridge which has a permanent speed control device that allows trains to run at a speed of 10 kmph. Railways technical experts had opined that the continued use of this bridge would be dangerous. Considering this, the Railways decided to build a new bridge and permission was granted to start the work in 2019. The 2.8-km bridge, constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, has a 72.5-metre lifting girder in the middle allowing large ships to pass through. The girders can be lifted up to 17 metres to make space for large ships. The design of the girders was carried out at Chatrakkudy railway station, about 60 km from Pamban, on the advice of the Lucknow Railway Research Design Standardisation Organisation.
"333 concrete foundations and 101 concrete piers have been constructed at sea. Considering the future demand, the foundation and piers are widened to accommodate the double track. But considering the current demand only one railway line is being constructed," a railway official said.
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