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Pamban bridge: Imagine a railway bridge over the sea which 'opens up' to allow ferry and boat movement! And, what makes this bridge even more wonderful is the fact that it was built 100 years ago! Till 1988, the Pamban bridge was the only surface transport that connected Tamil Nadu's island of Rameswaram to the mainland. Said to be an engineering marvel, the Pamban bridge was once India's longest sea bridge, till the Bandra-Worli sea link came up in 2009. We take a look at some breathtaking images of the Pamban bridge and awe-inspiring facts:
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The 2.057 km long bridge, also known as Bridge No.346 in Indian Railway reference, consists of over 140 spans. The amazing feature of a double-leaf section that can be raised to allow movement of ships and boats was designed by German engineer Scherzer. The 114th span, midway along the bridge, is this called the Scherzer span.
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Interestingly, the Scherzer span is now being replaced by a modern one to improve the life of the bridge. Southern Railways has said that the new span would be operated with the help of a remote/single button by the staff in Pamban.
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Pamban bridge is a cantilever bridge, that is a it has structures that project horizontally into space, supported only on one end.
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Until recently, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers, says Indian Railways.
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Following cyclone-induced tragic train accident in 1964, Indian Railways installed devices to check the wind velocity across the Pamban via duct. Train movement on the bridge is halted when the wind speed exceeds 58 kmph.
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The construction of the Pamban bridge began in 1911 and it was opened in 1914. It was only in 2007 that the railway line on Pamban bridge was converted from metre-gauge to broad-gauge.
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According to Indian Railways, the famed Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram and the Pamban bridge draw scores of foreign tourists and inland pilgrims to the island.
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Even as Indian Railways' Pamban bridge continues to be an engineering marvel, yet another railway bridge that is likely to be a stunning site is coming up in Jammu and Kashmir. Said to be world's highest railway bridge, the Chenab bridge, is set to be completed by 2019. The bridge will be taller than Paris' famous Eiffel Tower and is being built to withstand earthquakes.
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Yet another bridge that will be a landmark is the Bogibeel bridge – India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge. The Bogibeel double-deck bridge is being built over the Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh district of Assam and will connect the North and South banks of the river. The total length of the rail-cum-road bridge will be 4.9 km and it is likely to be operational in 2018.
