Tamil Nadu’s new Pamban Bridge i.e. the country’s first Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge is going to be ready soon. Its construction started on 9 November 2019 and it is expected that the project will be completed by March next year.
The Pamban bridge built under the project will facilitate easy movement of pilgrims and goods transport trains to and from Rameswaram. This place is the center of faith for the Pilgrims. Rameswaram, a small island in the Arabian Sea, holds great importance mainly because of its famous Ramanathaswamy temple.
However, till now the city was connected to the main road by the centuries-old Pamban Bridge. If we look from the point of view of history, then movement on this bridge started in 1914. This bridge, built on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, is the country’s first sea bridge as well as the longest bridge.
What is the difference between new and old bridge
If we talk about the specialty of this bridge, then it is Scherzer rolling lift Works on the model and opens up at a 90 degree angle. The construction of the new model of the bridge parallels the model designed earlier, which would allow cross commuting between train and seagoing vessels.
The beauty of the new bridge is that its central part is raised to allow ships to pass during the voyage. Whereas the Scherzer rolling lift model was manually operated in older models.
The project of the Ministry of Railways has asked to make this bridge 3 meters higher than the old bridge with 101 piers. Other than this. This bridge will give more and more space for passing sea vessels, such as streamers.
This project has been started by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited. Project consultant S Anbalagan told The Times of India that the track is being strengthened.
Know the features of this bridge
- According to the project, this bridge will be 2.2 km long.
- Its new technology will allow trains to carry more loads with faster speeds. This will boost the flow of tourists.
- The bridge will be 63 meters long, which will rise parallelly with a height of 22 meters above sea level.
- Unlike the old bridge, the new bridge will have a single girder.
- It will run on an electro-mechanical system, which works in sync with the train control system.
- Both its substructure and navigational line are being constructed consisting of double line track.
- Stainless steel is being used in construction work.
- According to the Ministry of Railways, an investment of Rs 250 crore has been estimated on this project.
Original article: Riya Gupta
Editing: G N Jha
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