RAMANATHAPURAM: With the completion of the lift span mechanism works, the Southern Railway successfully conducted a trial run at the new Pamban railway sea bridge on Sunday evening by operating an OHE (over head equipment) tower car across the bridge till Rameswaram station.
According to sources, the installation works of the centre lift span was carried out at the new bridge in the last week of July. Subsequently, tracks connecting both ends of the Pamban bridge were laid and the work was completed last week. On Sunday night, the OHE tower car was operated across the Pamban bridge for the first time since 2022.
It may be noted that train services across the old Pamban railway sea bridge were suspended and later stopped completely in December 2022, after the monitoring equipment, fixed by a team of experts from IIT Madras, found excessive vibrations in the bridge during train movement. The construction work of the new Pamban bridge near the existing one began in 2019.
“The trial run on the Pamban bridge has been successfully completed with OHE tower car in the presence of railway officials, PMC Staff and B Kamalakara Reddy, CPM/Co Ord/RVNL, Chennai and TK Padmanaban, CPM/II/RVNL, Chennai. Following the success of the maiden trial run with OHE tower car, further trial runs with goods carriers and empty coaches are likely to be carried out in the coming days,” said a senior official from the railways department.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the railway is expediting the work to complete the construction before September and resume train services to Rameswaram from October 1.