Railway Vikas Nigam (RVNL) is constructing the sea bridge namely Pamban Bridge, at a budget of Rs 250 crores. Pamban Bridge is India’s first vertical lift sea bridge, and railways aims to complete it by 2022. PM Modi laid the project’s foundation stone at Kanyakumari in March 2019.
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The Pamban Rail Bridge, which ties Rameshwaram to India’s mainland, is 105 years old. The Bridge would enable Indian Railways to run trains at greater speeds and carry more load.
It will also boost transportation between Pamban and Rameswaram on the mainland. It will have 100 18.3-meter spans and one 63-meter navigational length.
The present Pamban Bridge that was inaugurated in 1914 was India’s first sea bridge. It took three years to establish and had the record of being India’s longest sea bridge until the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, Maharashtra, opened in 2010.
The Ministry of Railways had previously uploaded some pictures of the new Pamban Bridge over Twitter.
“This dual-track state-of-the-art bridge would be the nation’s first vertical lift Sea Bridge and is anticipated to be ready by March 2022,” the ministry stated, citing it as an engineering masterpiece.
New Pamban Bridge: An engineering marvel !
This dual-track state-of-the-art bridge will be the country's first Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge and is expected to be completed by March 2022. pic.twitter.com/BaFVxAVkCM
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 3, 2021
“So many modern technologies, including stainless steel reinforcement, composite sleepers, and long-term painting methods, to name a few, were incorporated in the bridge’s designing.” We can see workers and types of equipment installed at the site under a bright, blue sky in the photographs posted by Mr. Vaishnaw.
New Pamban Bridge, India’s first vertical lift Railway sea bridge.
Target #Infra4India March 2022. pic.twitter.com/8HnqnIFW3W— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 6, 2021
Southern Railways trains go from Rameswaram to many regions of the country. According to an official, plans were formulated in 2019 to continue construction activities even throughout the rainy season. All of the necessary tools for the job were sent to Pamban, a nearby town.
The bridge possesses 101 piers and will be three meters taller than the present one, facilitating vessels to pass with better navigational air clearance.
The New Pamban Bridge Will Have Electro-mechanically Controlled System
Officials previously stated that the existing bridge’s Scherzer span is manually driven to permit ships, whereas the forthcoming facility would have electro-mechanically controlled systems that will be coupled with train control systems.
Whereas the existing bridge features ‘Scherzer’ rolling lift technology, which permits ships to pass through by opening the bridge horizontally, the proposed bridge will elevate a 63-meter portion vertically upwards while standing parallel to the deck. It will be implemented with the help of sensors at both ends.
It will also promote transportation between Pamban and Rameswaram on the mainland.
The Project is Intended To Promote Tourism
The projected New Pamban Bridge in Tamil Nadu is intended to promote tourism in the area, particularly for pilgrimage interests, as a massive number of devotees visit Rameshwaram Temple and Jyotirlinga every year.
Devotees and pilgrims who seek to go to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu will take advantage of the latest bridge, which will be 2.07 kilometres long.
