Pamban Bridge (Tamil: [paːmbɐn], romanised: pāmban) is a railway bridge that connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island with Mandapam in mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra–Worli Sea Link in 2010. The rail bridge is, for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers but has a double-leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through.
Pamban Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Pamban Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 9°16′57.25″N 79°12′5.91″E / 9.2825694°N 79.2016417°E |
| Carries | Rail |
| Locale | Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Owner | Indian Railways |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 6,776 feet (2,065 m) |
| No. of spans | 144 |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | Broad gauge |
| History | |
| Construction start | August 1911 |
| Construction end | February 1914 |
| Opened | 24 February 1914 |
| Closed | 23 December 2022 |
| Replaced by | New Pamban Bridge |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | Suspended |
| Location | |
 | |
The Pamban bridge was the only surface transport link that connected Rameswaram to the mainland India till 1988 when a road bridge was constructed parallel to the railway bridge. In 2020, construction of a new bridge closer to the existing one began which was planned to eventually replace the existing bridge. In December 2022, rail transportation on the bridge was suspended permanently as the bascule section had weakened significantly due to corrosion.
History
editPlans for a bridge to connect to mainland was suggested in 1870 as the British Administration sought ways to increase trade with Ceylon.[1] The construction began in August 1911.[2] The bridge was opened for traffic on 24 February 1914 and connected Rameshwaram in Pamban Island with mainland India.[3]
The bridge was damaged during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and required extensive repair work.[4] The adjacent road bridge was opened in 1988.[1][5] In 2009, further strengthening work was carried out on the bridge under the supervision of E. Sreedharan to enable it to withstand heavier freight trains.[6][7] On 13 January 2013, the bridge required repair work to the piers after suffering a minor damage from a naval barge.[8][9] In 2016, the Ministry of Railways sanctioned ₹25 crore (US$3.0 million) to replace the existing 65.23 metres (214.0 ft) long rolling type span with a 66 metres (217 ft) long single truss span which could be opened automatically.[10] In December 2018, train movement was halted to carry out repairs when a fissure was noticed on one of the spans and rail movement on the bridge was restored in March 2019.[11][12]
In 2020, Government of India announced that a new railway bridge will be constructed near the old Pamban Bridge at a cost of ₹250 crore (US$30 million).[13] In December 2022, rail transportation on the bridge was suspended permanently as the bascule section had weakened significantly due to corrosion and in February 2023, the Indian Railways announced that the train traffic to Rameshwaram would be restored once the new bridge is completed.[14]
Location
editThe Pamban railway bridge spans a 2.06 km (1.28 mi) wide strait between the Indian mainland and Rameswaram Island. The mainland end of the bridge is located at 9°16′56.70″N 79°11′20.12″E / 9.2824167°N 79.1889222°E. The bridge is located in a corrosive marine environment, making its maintenance a challenging job. The location is also a cyclone-prone, high-wind-velocity zone.[15]
Design
editThe railway bridge is located 12.5 m (41 ft) above sea level and is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) long.[15] The bridge consists of 143 piers and has a double-leaf bascule section with a Scherzer rolling type lift span that can be raised to let ships pass. Each half of the lifting span weighs 415 tonnes (457 tons).[16] The two leaves of the bridge are opened manually using levers.[15]
Rail transport
editA metre-gauge railway ran along the bridge since its inception in 1914 till 2007 when it was upgraded to a 5ft 6in broad gauge line.[1] The railway line connected Mandapam in mainland India and the Pamban island via the bridge. Earlier the railway line bifurcated from Pamban with one line heading towards Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminating at Dhanushkodi.[17] The railway line to Dhanushkodi was destroyed during 1964 Dhanushkodi cyclone along with the Pamban-Dhanuskodi passenger train, killing around 200 people.[18][19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Pamban bridge: 10 awesome facts about India's first sea bridge". The Economic Times.
- ^ Lalvani, Kartar (2016). The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4729-2483-4.
- ^ "Pamban bridge: 10 awesome facts about India's first sea bridge - Pamban bridge: India's first sea bridge". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ The Story of The Deities and The Temples in Southern Indian Peninsula. Trilochan Dash. p. 178.
- ^ Datta, Rangan (1 February 2023). "Rameswaram: A holy island town along India's southern borderland". My Kolkata. The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Delhi's Subway Builder". Forbes. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Strengthening of Pamban Railway Bridge". The Hindu. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Ship collides into century-old rail bridge". NDTV. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Repair work on Pamban bridge fast progressing". The Hindu. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Principal Chief Engineer inspects Pamban rail bridge". The Hindu. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Trains to Rameswaram cancelled due to repair work on Pamban". The Times of India. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Train Services from Rameswaram to Mandapam Suspended due to Crack in Pamban Bridge". Press108. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "Ministry of Railways confirms New Bridge in Pamban". Press108. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Rail traffic on old Pamban bridge permanently stopped". The Hindu. 3 February 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b c T.E., Raja Simhan (21 November 2003). "Pamban Bridge to be pulled down for gauge conversion". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Sri Raman, Papri (11 August 2007). "Bridge of memories – and to Rameswaram – reopens". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Jethwa, Raja Pawan (2007). "Section II: Mileage wise available Details of Railway lines laid". Shree Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Samaj: A brief History & Glory of our fore-fathers. pp. 63–70.
- ^ Datta, Rangan (21 June 2022). "In pictures: At the edge of India in Dhanuskodi". My Kolkata. The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Jaishankar, C (17 July 2006). "Their sentiment to metre gauge train is unfathomable". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2006.