RAMESWARAM: Finally, after waiting for two years, Rameswaram will re-establish contact via rail as the new Pamban Rail Bridge stands completed. Much awaited to be inaugurated, possibly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Mahashivratri, train services would now resume from all parts of the country to this sacred island.
This is the first new rail bridge built for Rameswaram in over a hundred years. Over 100 years old, the old Pamban Bridge, built in 1914, has now gone out of commission, retiring in December 2022. The new bridge construction began back in 2019 and was completed by November 2024.
Spanning 2.10 km, the new broad-gauge Pamban Bridge features a single rail line with provisions to add a second line on parallel pillars when needed. Unlike the old meter-gauge bridge, which was converted to broad gauge in 2007, the new structure introduces a vertical lift mechanism, a unique and advanced design seen in bridges in London and the United States.
This 72.5-meter-long and 660-metric-tonne vertical lift span can open up to a height of 17 meters in order to accommodate the passage of ships and boats underneath, all within 5 minutes and 30 seconds, as compared to the old bridge’s system of manual opening that takes about 45 minutes.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 531 crore, the bridge is supported by 101 robust pillars and uses 5,772 metric tonnes of standard steel. The structure’s design incorporates cutting-edge technology, ensuring operations remain safe even in adverse weather. An automated signal system halts train movements if wind speeds exceed 58 km per hour.
The new bridge is also constructed three meters higher than the old one, and it prevents the train carriages from getting wet due to seawater, which happens often with the old bridge when the tide is rough. The trains are supposed to cross the new bridge at a speed of 50 km per hour, while on the old bridge, the speed is 10 km per hour.