KOTTAYAM: The railway authorities on Saturday successfully demolished the old railway overbridge (ROB) at Nagampadam here which had survived two demolition attempts last month.
The structure was brought down by cutting it into pieces in a phased manner using heavy-duty cranes.
The dismantling of the bridge was carried out after completely blocking trains on the Kottayam - Ernakulam - Kayamkulam stretch on Saturday. The movement of trains is expected to be restored on Sunday. The dismantling was carried out in 10 stages.
Though the process was scheduled to commence at 12.40 am, it got delayed by 35 minutes as the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalapuram Express (16347) failed to pass through at the scheduled time. Initially, authorities cut the two arch beams of the bridge into four pieces. The platform of the bridge was brought down by cutting it into six pieces which were completed by 9 pm.
“We could complete the works as scheduled. We are hopeful of restoring rail traffic on Sunday,” said a railway officer.