CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the newly-constructed Pamban sea bridge, connecting Mandapam and Rameswaram, on October 2. The event will mark the resumption of train services to Rameswaram after a 22-month break. During his visit to the state, the prime minister will also unveil several projects at Chennai airport and other locations, as per official reports.
The new railway bridge, spanning 2.05 kilometres across the Palk Strait in the Bay of Bengal, links Rameswaram Island to the mainland. Official sources said the new bridge is the country’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge and designed to accommodate high-speed trains. The bridge was constructed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the engineering arm of Indian Railways, at a cost of `535 crore.
According to official documents, the bridge consists of 100 spans, each 18.3 meters long, with one 63-metre navigational span. This navigational span is 3 metres higher than the manually operated double-leaf bascule section of the old bridge, allowing ships and barges to pass through. The new bridge offers 22 metres of air clearance above sea level, compared to 19 metres on the older structure, reducing the risk of collisions and structural damage.
Sources revealed Southern Railway successfully conducted a trial run on the new Pamban Bridge after completing the lift span mechanism.
A railway official said all safety tests will be completed in the coming days, with the prime minister expected to inaugurate the bridge during his Tamil Nadu visit, tentatively set for October 2. “The official confirmation is awaited,” added the official.
The old Pamban Rail Bridge, connecting Rameswaram to mainland India, was originally built in 1914. It remained the only link between Mandapam and Rameswaram until a parallel road bridge was constructed in 1988. Train services on the old bridge were suspended in December 2022 after severe corrosion damaged its double-leaf section. Since then, the trains are being operated only till Mandapam.