Respond to bridge lapses, Madurai MP urges Railway minister

MADURAI: Madurai MP SU Venkatesan appealed to the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday to respond to the remarks made by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, on the lapses in the newly constructed Pamban railway bridge.

The original bridge was built in 1914 to connect Rameswaram to Mandapam Island and is considered an engineering marvel. Due to safety reasons and wear and tear, a new bridge has been constructed to replace the old one.

The CRS, AM Chowdhary, pointed out that the Railway Board typically relies on the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for technical advice, design, and standardization of railway projects. However, in this case, the 72-metre-long lift span girder was non-RDSO standard and designed using foreign codes. The RDSO was also excluded from the project.

The Railway Board supported RDSO’s decision to avoid responsibility, flouting its own guidelines. Moreover, the standard practice of forming a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for such important projects was not followed. The CRS said it’s unfortunate and dangerous that the railway board did not follow its own procedures and standards. Citing these lapses, S Venkatesan condemned the Railway Board for violating the safety rules in constructing the bridge at Pamban, which has historical significance.

In his statement addressed to Vaishnaw, the MP stressed that the Pamban railway bridge should have been constructed with core infrastructure technology to withstand weather extremes, moisture, heavy wind and high-speed travel. He added, “It seems that the Board ignored its (the bridge) significance and safety of thousands of passengers who would travel through the bridge. Why did the Railway Board allow to execute the project?”