Yes, the travel destination of many of us, the Pamban Bridge which connects Rameswaram to mainland India is soon going to be replaced by a new technology driven vertical lift bridge.
Before, we actually see in the video, how the new bridge is going to work, lets read about pamban bridge.
Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge which connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to 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.
Until 1988, the Pamban bridge was the only surface transport that connected Tamil Nadu’s island of Rameswaram to the mainland. In 2018, the bascule of this bridge was damaged. This damage ended the transportation on the bridge.
In 1988, a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. The Pamban Road Bridge connects the National Highway (NH 49) with the Rameswaram island. It stands on the Palk Strait and between the shores of Mandapam (a place on the Indian mainland) and Pamban (one of the fishermen town in Rameswaram island).
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. As can be seen in the video.
However, the 104-year-old which has a total length of 2,058 m bridge shall be soon replaced as the Railways plans to build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge that will make way for ships and steamers to pass through has already been approved by the Ministry.
The more than two-kilometre-long bridge, which is likely to cost Rs 250 crore, will have a 63-metre stretch which will lift up while remaining parallel to the deck to allow access to the ships, the official said.
Here is the video which shows how the new bridge shall work.
It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.
A cyclone had destroyed the rail link between the two sites in 1964 and since then, this is the first effort to restore the link, the official said.
The new bridge will have 100 spans of 18.3m and one navigational span of 63m.
It will be three-metre higher than the existing bridge with navigational air clearance of 22 metre above sea level. Because of the vertical lift, full horizontal width of 63m will be available for navigation.
In comparison to existing manual operation and control, the new bridge will have electro mechanical controlled systems which will be interlocked with train control systems. Many other new technologies like stainless steel reinforcement, composite sleepers and long life painting system to name a few have been considered in planning of the bridge.
So, why wait, just don’t miss the opportunity to experience the joy of travelling on the train over a sea. As the new bridge is going to be taller and ” Samandar aur aapke beech ka fasla aur jyada ho jaynenga Yatriyon……”.
References and credit :
- Video Courtesy : Financial Express Youtube
- Content reference Financial express and Wikipedia.
- Picture courtesy : Google images
Pic 1 https://www.theweek.in/webworld/features/lifestyle/Discover-the-less-explored-pamban-island.html
Pic 2 : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/120752833737231048