New Pamban bridge and a rail link to Ram Setu! These 2 big Indian Railways projects are spectacular.

Indian Railways to construct a new Pamban bridge over the Arabian sea and bring Ram Setu on the railway map! In two separate projects that will bring cheer to Indian Railways passengers, and pilgrims in particular, the national transporter is looking to construct a railway line between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi (the starting point of Ram Setu), and a new Pamban bridge. Both the projects are expected to be complete in the next four years. The new Pamban bridge, connecting Mandapam on the mainland and Rameswaram on the Pamban island, will have India’s first vertical launch rail section. The new bridge will be built parallel to the existing 104-year old bridge, which is practically non-operational. On the other hand, Dhanushkodi – practically a ghost town – will get a railway line several decades after a cyclone destroyed the station.

The new Pamban bridge will be over 2 kilometres long with 100 spans of 18.3 metres and one navigational span of 63 metres. This navigational span will move vertically upwards to allow for movement of ships and steamers. The British-era Pamban bridge has a ‘Scherzer’ rolling lift technology which helps open the folds of the bridge horizontally. The new Pamban bridge will have a navigational clearance of 22 metres above the sea level and will also be made keeping in mind Indian Railways plans for electrification. A vertical lift of the span will allow for the full 63 metres to be available for movement.

At present, a manual operation for control of movement of trains is in place. The new bridge will have electro-mechanical controlled systems which will be in tandem to the train control systems. The Rs. 250 crore project has been cleared by the Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry and a tender would be floated soon, a senior railway official told Financial Express Online.

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS