The Indian Railways is currently continuing its work on India’s first vertical-lift bridge, the Pamban railway bridge, which will be connecting the mainland with Rameswaram island.
According to the Southern Railway, the 2.05-kilometer-long bridge will enable Indian Railways to operate trains at higher speeds, facilitating increased traffic between mainland India and Rameswaram Island.
Now, the Southern Railway has given an update on the progress of the project.
Pamban Bridge nears completion
In a post on X, the Southern Railway wrote, “As India’s first vertical lift Railway sea bridge is nearing completion, a series of Trial runs are being conducted to test the durability & structural integrity!”
As per a video shared in the post, a load deflection test on the new bridge was conducted successfully on August 21.
The Pamban Bridge, being built by RVNL at a cost of nearly Rs 535 crore, will replace the Scherzer’s span bridge built in 1914. The new bridge is said to be a “Modern Railway Engineering Marvel” and is the first of its kind in the country.
The video also said that the Pamban Bridge will be completed shortly, linking the Rameswaram island to the mainland once again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the construction of the new Pamban Railway Bridge in November 2019, with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited commencing the project in February 2020.