Railways to replace 16 girders on Pamban bridge

According to officials, more than 10 train services are operated on a daily basis using the railway link across the sea off Pamban, one of the more than century-old railway bridges in the country, that connects Rameswaram island with the main land. 

The replacement of girders and various parts is done at regular intervals as part of the maintenance of the facility. The present work of replacing 16 iron girders, that commenced on Tuesday, would be completed in another 30 days. 

An official in the engineering section of the Southern Railway said that the iron girders, each prepared at a cost of Rs 6 crore, were brought from Arakonam. There are totally 140 such iron girders on the bridge and owing to intense rusting, they would be replaced at regular intervals. In 2015, 28 girders, which were found to be damaged, were replaced. This year, 16 were identified to be problematic and are being replaced.

The work would be carried out from 6 am to 10 am, since no trains would pass through the bridge during that time. If the work is carried out continuously, it might take only 10 days. But, due to limited time available for the work, the entire exercise would take 30 days to be completed, the official added. 

The iron girders are the ones to provide support to the bridge with the land and they are monitored regularly for damages, the official explained.