RAMANATHAPURAM: The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), who carried out safety inspection on the new railway sea bridge at Pamban on November 13-14, has said that the century-old Pamban Bridge is a technical marvel but the newly-constructed one is built with glaring lapses in planning and execution.
AM Chowdhary, CRS, Southern Circle, however, has authorised operation of trains with speed restrictions on the new bridge.
Considering the safety of the century-old railway sea bridge in Pamban, the railways had started the construction of the new bridge next to the old one in 2019 at a cost of Rs 531 crore.
The CRS has pointed out various lapses in planning and execution, including the center lift grider not being in conformity with the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) design.
CRS in its report said, “It is unfortunate that the railway board has been flouting its own guidelines by disassociating the RDSO from the project.”
CRS also pointed out that adequate measures have not been taken to address corrosion, since the area is known to have the second worst corrosive environment in the world.
“Effects of corrosion are very severe even before the commissioning of the bridge. Railways must get some new methods to protect the bridge as the existing method is inadequate,” the CRS said.
Authorising train operations on the line, AM Chowdhary said, “Passenger and goods trains can be operated at a maximum speed of 75 kmph from Mandabam to Pamban stations.
A speed restriction of 50 kmph shall be imposed over the lift grider, and based on performance and response, speed restriction can be relaxed. All BG diesel locomotives presently sanctioned in the line are permitted to run on the bridge.”
He also added that the officials shall inspect the lift span grider every year to certify its fitness for running of passenger traffic for the next five years.
Mock drills must be carried out, says CRS report
The inspection reports should be submitted to the commission. In general stipulations, CRS stated that the railways shall appoint a reputed agency to carry out risk analysis and mitigation strategies. Also, sufficient critical spaces of various parts of the lift span shall be maintained and also regular mock drill must be carried out, the report said.
CRS also suggested several other pointers, including inspection, maintenance and training for technicians on bridge operation, and flagged signalling and other issues.
Chowdhary added that station masters, gateman and pointsman are not conversant with revised working condition, and action should be taken to ensure that all train staff at Pamban and Mandaban stations and bridge control understand working rules before starting train services on the section.
Speaking to TNIE, officials of Madurai railway division said CRS has suggested several measures in the report, and action will be taken to address them. After rectification measures, decision on resumption of traffic on bridge will be taken by railways department.