India's First Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge At Rameswaram To Be Ready By March 2022

Indian Railways plans to complete the construction of the New Pamban Bridge, which is the country's first vertical lift bridge, by March 2022.

This dual-track state-of-the-art bridge will replace the existing century-old iconic British structure between Pamban and Rameswaram.

"New Pamban Bridge: An engineering marvel! This dual-track state-of-the-art bridge will be the country's first Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge and is expected to be completed by March 2022," the Ministry of Railways tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the new bridge to be constructed at Rs 250 crore in March 2019.

The existing bridge is 2,058 metres long. It has been used for more than a hundred years and has been non-operational for the past few years.

The new bridge will have a 63-metre stretch that will lift while remaining parallel to the deck allowing access to the ships. It will have 100 spans of 18.3 metres and one navigational span of 63 metres. The new bridge would have 101 piers with a vertical lift facility to open and close the middle portion to allow passage of ships and steamers.

The first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram to the mainland will allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hindrance.

The vertical-lift bridge will be three metres higher than the existing bridge with a navigational air clearance of 22 metres above sea level. It will be operated using an electro-mechanical control system which will be interlocked with train control systems.