Pamban bridge: Railways starts construction of India's first vertical lift sea bridge

The Indian Railways has started constructing the first pillar in the sea for the country’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge – the Pamban rail bridge. The development work on the advanced bridge is underway at Pamban in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

The vertical lift railway sea bridge is expected to be constructed within the next two years. The new Pamban bridge is a first-of-its-kind project for the Indian Railways, having a 2.05 km long stretch, connecting Mandapam in Tamil Nadu to Rameswaram at the Pamban island. It is set to be India’s first vertical lift rail bridge over the sea.

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The sea bridge is being developed by Railway Vikas Nigam (RVNL) at the cost of Rs 250 crores. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019 at Kanyakumari. The bridge will allow the Indian Railways to operate trains at a higher speed with heavier luggage. It will also increase traffic between the mainland of Pamban and Rameswaram.

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Pamban railway bridge

The original Pamban railway bridge was built in1914 to connect Mandapam to the Rameswaram island situated in the Gulf of Mannar. It was the only link connecting the two locations, until a new road bridge was built parallel to the sea link in 1988. The Pamban bridge had flaps that would open to enable movement of ferries.

The conventional rail bridge resting on concrete piers had flap in the middle, which could be lifted to allow ships and barges to pass through. However, the 104-year-old is not suitable to speed upgradation and the Railways Minister has decided to build a new bridge that will have a vertical shaft to allow for ferries to pass under when trains are not operating.

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