A Coast Guard vessel passes through the Pamban channel as the Railway authorities lifted the vertical span in the New Pamban rail bridge during a dry run.
| Photo Credit: L. Balachandar
India’s first vertical bridge, the Pamban Rail Bridge, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 6.
“On 6th April on the occasion of Ram Navami, PM Modi will pray at the Ramanathswamy temple in Rameswaram and also inaugurate the new Pamban Bridge,” sources told The Hindu.
The new Pamban Bridge’s Vertical Lift Girder Span is considered to be an engineering marvel, ensuring safe and efficient rail and marine traffic.
Pamban Bridge: India’s first vertical lift bridge is ready for operation
The new bridge will enable trains to cross the sea between mainland India and Rameswaram Island in Tamil Nadu in less than 5 minutes, a significant reduction from the previous 25-30 minutes. This new bridge replaces the over-century-old bridge, which ceased operations in 2022.
| Video Credit:
The Hindu
The 2.2-km-long bridge, parallel to the existing bridge, which is more than a century old, was constructed by public sector enterprise Rail Vikas Nigam Limited at an estimated cost of ₹531 crore.
The contract for constructing bridge was awarded in August 2019 and the work started in October. Originally planned to be completed in two years, the construction got delayed due to COVID lockdown.
The 72.5-metre-long lifting span would be lifted for 17 metres above the bridge using four motors for ships or boats pass through. Two motors have been fitted on each of the two towers.
The motors would lift the centre span weighing 630 tonnes. Two counter weights of 313 tonnes each have been installed on the two towers to enable easier lifting of the span.
With the four motors, the vertical span would be raised 17 metres within four minutes.
“This would allow a 22-metre vertical space between the Pamban channel and the lift for big ships to pass under the bridge,” a railway official explained.
The new bridge has been constructed three metres above the height of the old Pamban rail bridge.
In November last year, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern Circle, had pointed out “glaring lapses” right from the planning stage to the execution of the new Pamban rail bridge, even as he gave the go-ahead for operating trains on the structure.
However, Southern Railway General Manager R. N. Singh clarified that Commissioner of Railway Safety has already given permission for operating trains on the new Pamban Railway Bridge. “The CRS has made certain observations which is routine. Those issues would be attended to within a week’s time and train operation (on the bridge) would begin very soon. There is no concern on that,” Mr. Singh said a few days later.
Published – March 26, 2025 03:44 pm IST
