Since the life of the 105-year-old Pamban Bridge is almost over, it is time to build a new replacement. It will be constructed at a distance of 27.35 metres on the northern side of the existing bridge and will run parallel to it
For the bold and the adventurous, the challenge to climb the highest mountain, cross the deepest sea and to cross the most difficult terrain can never diminish. Even before technology got evolved and refined, the quest to conquer nature, the effort to create order from any form of disorder was the driving force for many. Archeological excavations have displayed the elegance of thought in prehistoric civilisations, where highly evolved designs were thought of and executed with great accuracy. These civilisations were pockets in the wilderness and were swallowed up sooner than later, to be discovered thousands of years afterwards, surprising us all by their existence.
In this context, it can be said that the first-known effort to connect the tip of Indian peninsula to the island nation of Sri Lanka was at the time Lord Ram walked this earth. According to the scriptures this effort was successful.
The next known successful effort to do so was fairly recent but only up to the island of Rameswaram, within India, just 35 km short of Sri Lanka. This was in the times of the British Raj. Then railway lines were being laid across the subcontinent, connecting the hinterland to the ports, to export the natural wealth of the country to run factories in England. In this rail network expansion, it was proposed to build a sea-link from the Indian mainland to the island of Rameswaram to increase trade with Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon.
Construction of the Pamban Bridge or Railway Bridge No. 346, started in August 1911 and was completed by December 1913. It was pressed into service in February 1914. It was India’s first sea bridge and the longest till the Bandra-Worli Sea Link was opened to traffic some years ago. It connects Mandapam, the last station on the mainland to Pamban on the island of Rameswaram. The railway line was constructed to the very tip of this island, Dhanushkodi, the closest point to Sri Lanka. For most of its length, the 2.058 km bridge is like any other bridge built on piers, with 145 spans of 12.1 m steel girders. It is made unique by its 68.5 m navigational Scherzer span, which can be lifted to permit barges and ships passing through the raised bridge.
But being constructed in a highly corrosive environment has taken its toll. Even though, the bridge has a well defined maintenance protocol, the 1964 cyclone and accompanying tidal waves washed away the train No. 653 approaching Dhanushkodi, resulting in loss of life of all passengers, train crew and staff. The town of Dhanushkhodi, the railway line to it and a major part of the bridge was also swept away by these waves. The bridge was reconstructed. In 2007, it was again upgraded, when it was converted into broad gauge, in keeping with the unigauge policy of Indian Railways. It underwent extensive repairs due to corrosion between December 2018 to February 2019, including replacement of cracked and damaged members of the navigational span. But since the life of this 105-year-old bridge is almost over, it is time to build a completely new replacement. Once the new bridge becomes operational, the old one will be demolished.
This job has been assigned to Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), a mini-ratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) of the Ministry of Railways. For the work, Rs 248.97 crore was sanctioned in March 2019 on an out of turn basis.
The new bridge will be 2083 metre long and will be constructed at a distance of 27.35 metre on the northern side of the existing bridge and will run parallel to it. It will be 3 metre higher than the present bridge, have 100 spans of 18.3 metre each and one navigational span of 72.5 metre length, which will be electrically operated to lift vertically. So, the navigational space of the new bridge will be much wider. The new bridge along with the navigational span will not only have double track capacity but it will also be suitably built to be prepared for the future electrification of the track.
Since the bridge will be located in a highly corrosive environment, it is planned to metalise the entire steel superstructure with zinc. With the provision for the vertical lift of the navigational span, sophisticated technology and machinery will be used. The manual winching of the old bridge will become a figment of the memory. Instead, there will be operators stationed on top of the towers in the control room who will operate the lift. Thus, they will have complete view of the bridge at all times.
The access to the control room will be both by stairs and elevator. The speed of the lift will be hydraulically regulated with automatic brakes for any unexpected movement. Automatic lubrication will also be done of the bearings, cables and sheaves. There will be sufficient power back up, earthing and lightening protection of the bridge. There will be locking devices for prevention of accidental opening of the span or movement because of wind lifting pressure. All mechanical items will be provided with outdoor maritime protection. Toilet facilities and a spare room shall also be provided.
The target date of completion of the bridge is two years from the commencement of work.