Iconic Pamban Railway Bridge To Open New Avatar In December - Dhanushkodi Return On The Cards

Unlike the current bridge, which is a single line link, the new Pamban bridge will feature two sets of tracks and will feature electrification, bringing electric loco hauled trains to Rameswaram for the very first time.

The new bridge which costs Rs 250 crores will allow for trains to travel at speeds of up to Rs 80km/h. With the opening of the new bridge, freight trains will be able to cross the Palk Strait for the very first time.

The new bridge over the Palk Strait will rise 3-metres higher than the current bridge which skims the sea. The new bridge sports 100 spans that measure 18.3-metres long while the new lifting bridge sections measures 75 metres long. This was relayed to ANI by the Divisional Engineer and Incharge of Pamban Bridge, Hridayesh Kumar. The new lifting bridge section will offer a vertical clearance level of 22 metres.

The current Pamban railway bridge is a relic of our nation's colonial past and was commissioned by the British on the 24th of February, 1914. The 2.058-kilometre-long bridge connects the towns of Mandapam on the Indian mainland to Pamban island and the temple town of Rameswaram.

The original Pamban bridge was the first sea bridge to open in India and features a double-leaf bascule section with a Scherzer rolling type lift span that can be opened and closed to allow ships to pass through by manually operating levers on either side.

The current bridge features 146 spans of steel girders. The section with the bascule bridge measures 61 metres long while all the other spans measure 12 metres long. The maximum speed for trains on this bridge is just 10km/h.

The opening of the new bridge will help increase tourism into the temple town of Rameswaram. However, Rameswaram will no longer be the end point of the new line if Indian Railways gets the permission it needs to return to Dhanuskodi.

According to a PTI report, the new proposal which is awaiting approval, calls for an 18-kilometre long, electrified single broad gauge line which will feature a 13-kilometre long elevated section. The proposal calls for the reconstruction of the Dhanuskodi station, which along with the rest of the town, was wiped out by a massive cyclone in December 1964.

This new Dhanushkodi proposal though still faces quite a few hurdles. However, if permissions are granted and the railways is able to acquire the land necessary to build the single track line, the new Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi line is expected to be ready for the public in around two years from the start of construction. The single track line will feature three halts between Dhanuskodi and Rameswaram.

The 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone

The old line to Dhanuskodi was one of the jewels in the Indian railways crown before it was wiped out by a massive cyclonic storm that in today's parlance would have been classified as a Super Cyclonic storm. The 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone at its peak was generating winds that were hitting sustained speeds of 240km/h with gusts as high as 280km/h.

A storm surge caused by the cyclone submerged the town of Dhanushkodi and overturned a passenger train that ran to the city killing everyone on board. The cyclone wiped out a town that acted as the waypoint between the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka.

Thoughts On The New Pamban Bridge & The Extension To Dhanuskodi

Indian Railways is quite right to be proud of the new Pamban bridge which will help carry more people onto the island while also allowing freight to cross over for the first time. If the line to Dhanuskodi gets the green light we hope that the railways finds a way to honor those that were lost in 1964.