New Pamban Bridge: Amid safety concerns about the new Pamban Bridge in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to X to share several photos of the bridge.

Vaishnaw said the new Pamban bridge, which is set to be India’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge, is a “modern engineering marvel”. The bridge connects the Indian mainland to Rameswaram Island in Tamil Nadu.

Ashwini Vaishnaw termed the new construction a “state-of-the-art project” designed to improve safety and speed, with a major thrust towards innovation. His comments come just days after the Railway Safety Commissioner flagged ‘glaring lapses’ regarding the construction of the new bridge between Mandapam and Pamban stations.

Ashwini Vaishnaw commented that the old Pamban Bridge was beginning to show signs of corrosion, paving the way for the construction of a new one. Built in 1914, the old bridge connected the mainland to Rameswaram for 105 years before being decommissioned in Dec 2022 due to corrosion.

The new Pamban Bridge, described as a ‘state-of-the-art project,’ has been specially designed for double tracks of trains. Constructed 22 metres above sea level, the bridge is considered safe for the ships passing underneath it.

Meanwhile, in contrast, the old bridge was 19 metres above sea level and required two workers on each side to lift it for passing ships. In comparison, now the new Pamban bridge features a fully automated vertical lift span.

Spanning over 2.05 km, the new Pamban Bridge has been constructed at a cost of ₹535 crores by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). It is designed to accommodate faster trains and handle increased traffic, wrote Ashwini Vaishnaw.

(All pictures have been sourced from Ashwini Vaishnaw’s X handle)