NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, OCT 6
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday shared images of the new Pamban bridge in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. India’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge, it is likely to become functional by March 2022.
This will boost the spiritual tourism infrastructure as well as navigation of ships in Tamil Nadu.
New Pamban Bridge, India’s first vertical lift Railway sea bridge.
Target #Infra4India March 2022. pic.twitter.com/8HnqnIFW3W— Ashwini Vaishnaw (मोदी का परिवार) (@AshwiniVaishnaw) October 6, 2021
The new 2-kilometer-long bridge will connect Rameswaram island to the mainland, replacing the present 104-year-old structure. The bridge will be 63 metres long and will raise vertically to allow small ships access. Workers and machinery can be seen deployed at the location under a clear, blue sky in the photographs posted by Vaishnaw. The bridge will have 101 piers and will be three metres taller than the current one, allowing vessels to pass with better navigational air clearance.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi lay the foundation stone in March, 2019, building of the bridge began in November that year. The new bridge, being built at a cost of Rs. 250 crore, will allow the national transporter to run trains at higher speeds, carry more weight, and improve traffic volume.
The current Pamban bridge was India’s first sea bridge, which opened in 1914. Its construction took three years.
