The Ministry of Railways on Saturday announced that 84 per cent of work on much-awaited India's first vertical lift sea bridge - New Pamban bridge - connecting the holy Rameswaram in Pamban island to mainland India has been completed.
This state-of-the-art bridge will be the country's first vertical lift railway sea bridge and is expected to be completed by March 2023.
"The reconstruction work on the new 2.05 km Pamban railway bridge which will connect Rameswaram island to the mainland in Tamil Nadu has gathered pace. Till Date, 84 per cent of the construction work has been completed," the ministry said in a statement.
All 333 piles completed and the work of 101 pile caps and substructures has also been completed. Also, the fabrication of all 99 approach spans was completed, out of which 76 girders have been launched. Fabrication of the vertical lift span girder is nearing completion.
It is also informed that the assembling platform for the vertical lift span on the Rameswaram end of the bridge is getting ready. Track laying work is in progress.
"The sea bridge is being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) at a cost of Rs535 crores. The bridge will allow the Indian Railways to operate trains at a higher speed. It will also increase traffic between the mainland of India and Rameswaram island," the ministry said.
The existing Pamban Rail Bridge, which connects Rameswaram to mainland India, is 105 years old. The original bridge was built in 1914 to connect Mandapam to the Rameswaram island situated in the Gulf of Mannar. It was the only link connecting the two locations until a new road bridge was built parallel to the sea link in 1988.
( With inputs from ANI )
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