Redevelopment work of Rameswaram railway station, Tamil Nadu, is going at a rapid pace, informed the Ministry of Railways, on Friday. The sanctioned cost of the project is Rs 112.69 crores.
“Furthering on Rameswaram Station redevelopment! With the completion of the topographical survey, site cleaning & a geo-technical investigation in progress, the redevelopment project sanctioned at a cost of ₹112.69 Cr. is progressing briskly at Rameswaram station, Tamil Nadu,” informed the ministry, on Twitter. The ministry also tweeted some pictures of the development work.
The station serves the town of Rameswaram located on the Rameswaram Island in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu state of India. It comes under the Madurai railway division and is a major terminal of the Southern Railway zone. Via the highly acclaimed Pamban Rail Bridge, the station links the pilgrim town as well as the rest of the island to the mainland.
Rameswaram railway station is one of the oldest in the country and was opened in 1906. It was rebuilt in 2007. It accommodates trains such as the Sethu Express and the Boatmail Express. The station has four platforms and 12 rail tracks.
Presently, the Rameswaram railway station and the Pamban railway station are the only two functioning train stations in the island. The former rail terminus in Dhanushkodi is no longer in use. After it was destroyed in a cyclone in 1964, the metre-gauge branch line from Pamban Junction to Dhanushkodi was dismantled.
However, according to a new proposal sent by the Zonal Office to the Ministry of Railways, Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi are to be once again connected by the railway line. This will give tourists coming to Rameswaram an easier option to reach Dhanushkodi.
Dhanushkodi, geographically, is on the tip of Pamban island. It is separated from the mainland by the Palk Strait.