Railway Safety officials conduct safety trail between Mandapam and Rameshwaram
According to a Daily Thanthi report, during the test, 7 coaches were attached along with the rail engine and officials also inspected the lifting and lowering of the vertical suspension bridge.
Safety test of Newly built Pamban bridge (X)
CHENNAI: The Southern railway officials ensured a safety test conducted a high-speed trial between Mandapam and Rameshwaram at a speed of 60 km to 80 km on Thursday in the presence of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern Circle, A.M. Chowdhury.
According to a Daily Thanthi report, during the test, 7 coaches were attached along with the rail engine and officials also inspected the lifting and lowering of the vertical suspension bridge.
It is reported that the new rail bridge in Rameshwaram is expected to be decided after the ongoing inspection.
The CRS inspected the functioning, locking and centring arrangements of the vertical lift girder span on the new Pamban bridge, construction of which was undertaken by RVNL (Rail Vikas Nigam Limited), the engineering division of Indian Railways, on behalf of railways for Rs 535 crore.
Shri A.M. Chowdhary, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru conducted a high-speed trial between Pamban and Mandapam, marking a milestone as this engineering marvel, the New Pamban Bridge, nears commissioning #SouthernRailway pic.twitter.com/AXA8y20lTy
— Southern Railway (@GMSRailway) November 14, 2024
Meanwhile, the new vertical lift girder span bridge would replace the old cantilever rail bridge, which was first built and opened in February 1914.
The sole link between Mandapam and Rameswaram till a parallel road bridge was built in 1988,train services on the old bridge were suspended in December 2022 due to severe corrosion that damaged the double-leaf section.
Train movement on the old bridge was suspended following the detection of excessive vibration during train movement in 2022 when a team of IIT Madras experts fitted monitoring equipment.
The old bridge, which withstood the infamous 1964 cyclonic storm that wreaked havoc in the region, even killing many in Dhanushkodi, underwent renovation in a record 45 days after the cyclone.
The new vertical lift girder span bridge, which would be three meters higher than the old manually operated double leaf bascule section bridge, would provide 22 meters of air clearance above sea level, against the 19 meters of the old bridge.
The new bridge has 100 spans, each measuring 18.3 meters, with a single 63-meter navigation span.
(Inputs from Bureau)