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The new 2.07 km Pamban rail bridge - India’s first vertical lift bridge - is set to be inaugurated in January to connect the Indian mainland and the holy Rameshwaram island. Surrounded by the pristine waters of the Bay of Bengal, it will be a ‘showcase’ project for the entire Indian Railways, said BG Mallya, General Manager, Southern Railway. It will replace the century-old bridge, which is corroded and has speed restrictions, he told businessline.
Like the old cantilever bridge, the new one, built at the cost of around ₹540 crore is also an architectural marvel facilitating the movement of ships across the railway bridge. The navigational span can be lifted up to a height of 17 m using an electro-mechanical system, unlike manual operations in the old one.
The vertical clearance in the lifted position of the navigational span will be equal to the clearance available in the adjacent road bridge, he told businessline. Over 80 per cent of the work is completed. He added that this includes work on 333 piles, 101 caps and sub-structure.
“We are eagerly looking forward to the inauguration of the bridge as it will solve the problem with the old bridge in which there is a speed restriction of 15 kmph, which is nearly 100 years old and has a lot of corrosion. The new bridge will have a speed limit of 65 kmph,” he said.
Test of time
Work on the new bridge constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd started in February 2020. It will have 100 spans across the sea and be 3m higher than the existing bridge.
The ‘great’ Pamban cantilever bridge was commissioned in 1914 and stood for over a century, bridging peninsular India and the Gulf of Mannar. The navigational span, known as the Scherzer rolling lift span, is named after the railroad engineer who invented it.
The bridge was originally built for Metre Gauge and subsequently strengthened to Broad Gauge standard in 2006-07. The Scherzer rolling span expands and allows cruisers and ships to pass through. It also transports pilgrims visiting Ramanathaswamy Temple.
A vertical clearance of only 1.5 m is available between the high tide level and the bottom of the girder, resulting in seawater splashing on the girders. With less residual life left, it was decided to reconstruct the bridge to be suitable for a double line, including a navigational lift span parallel to the existing bridge.
E Sreedharan’s fete
E Sreedharan, the metro man of India, is synonymous with the Pamban rail bridge, which was devastated by a cyclone on December 23, 1964. However, in just 46 days, he and his team achieved the near-impossible task of restoring the bridge to a fully operational state.
The new bridge’s substructure is being constructed for two tracks to accommodate future doubling, and the superstructure is being provided for a single line, said Mallya.
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