New Pamban Bridge: Railways to complete India’s first vertical lift sea bridge by March 2022
Railways announced that construction of new Pamban bridge in Mandapam will be completed by March 2022. It shall be the first vertical lift railway sea bridge.
The original Pamban railway bridge was built in 1914 (as MG bridge) 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 has 'rocking chair' type scherzer span that open to enable the movement of ferries. However, the 105-year-old bridge is not suitable to speed up-gradation 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.
The Southern Railways operates trains from Rameswaram to various parts of the country. The Scherzer span in the existing bridge is operated manually, lifts up to allow ships; whereas the proposed facility would have electro-mechanical controlled systems which will be interlocked with train control systems, officials have said earlier.
Location: Pamban, Mandapam: Total length: 2,065 m
Construction started: 1913: Opened: 1914
Bridge type: Scherzer ( Bascule)
Clearance below: 24 m; Longest span: 88 m