India’s First Railway Sea Bridge Construction Will Be Over in 2023

Indian Railway is building India’s first vertical lift sea bridge- the New Pamban Bridge that will connect the mainland of India in Tamil Nadu to the holy land Rameshwaram. The construction of this sea bridge is almost 84% completed and expected to be over by March 2023. The bridge will be a boon for the pilgrims willing to visit one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, Ramanathaswamy Temple. 

Current Status of the Construction of Pamban Bridge 

In March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the bridge. Although the construction of it began on Nov 2019. So far, construction of all 333 piles, 101 pile caps of the state-of-the-art bridge has been completed. Moreover, the fabrication of 99 approach spans have been completed and out of which 76 girders are launched. Besides, fabrication of the vertical lift span girder is nearing completion. Apart, the assembling platform for the vertical lift span on Rameshwaram end of the bridge is ready. And the track laying work is underway. 

Silent Feature of the State of the Art Bridge

• Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is executing the sea bridge at a cost of RS. 535 crores. 
• The bridge will allow the Indian railway to operate trains at a higher speed by carrying more weight. 
• It will increase the traffic between mainland India and Rameshwaram island.
• It is parallel to the old Pamban Bridge, built in 1914 to connect Mandapam to the Rameshwaram island situated in the Gulf of Mannar and sea link road bridge, built in 1988. 
• The new 2.07 km long Pamban railway bridge will be the country’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge.
• The bridge is 12.5 metres above sea level, having navigational air clearance of 22 metres above sea level.
• The vertical-lift bridge will be three metres higher than the existing bridge.  
• From this dual automobile construction two ships can cross this bridge simultaneously.
• The bridge will open for public use in the first quarter of 2023. 
• The railway bridge will be operated using an electro-mechanical control system interlocked with train control systems.
• Moreover, the new bridge will be an example of marvellous engineering. Several innovative technologies, including composite sleepers, stainless steel reinforcing, and long-lasting paintwork have been used to the rail bridge. 

The initiative of Indian railways to build a sea bridge will boost tourism to Rameshwaram and ease the travelling for people. 

Apart,  for better train experience, Passengers can use the artificial intelligence tool of rail apps like RailMitra to plan their rail journey. The train app allows travellers to check IRCTC PNR status, trains between two stations, live train running stations, seat availability, train fare etc. 

Moreover, you can use this rail app to order food on train online and get it delivered directly to your seat.