Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to inaugurate the new Pamban rail bridge connecting Ramanathapuram with Rameswaram island on April 6 on the occasion of Ram Navami.
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After inspecting the Pamban rail bridge, constructed at a cost of ₹531 crore, Southern Railway General Manager R.N. Singh told reporters that the after inaugurating the new bridge, the Prime Minister would also address a public meeting in Rameswaram.
Delayed inauguration
Though the officials of Southern Railway have been repeatedly inspecting the railway bridge and were planning for the inauguration by the end of February, the inaugural function could not be held as the Prime Minister’s Office did not confirm the dates due to Mr. Modi’s foreign visits, a railway official said.
Engineers of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited completed the bridge work to replace the century-old Pamban rail bridge by October last year. This included the construction of new vertical lift span of 72 metres, said to be first-of-its-kind in India.
Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) A.M. Chowdhary completed his two-day statutory inspection of the new bridge on November 14 last year.
Scathing report of CRS
Even as the local people were eagerly waiting for commissioning of the new rail bridge so that rail traffic could be restored between Mandapam railway station in the mainland and Rameswaram island, a scathing report by the CRS on “glaring lapses” in planning and execution of the bridge work, which became public on November 27, put on hold its commissioning.
He also laid a pre-condition to Madurai Divisional Railway Manager to carry out rectification works to remove certain deficiencies for operating trains over the bridge. An official said that all the changes suggested by the CRS have been completed.
New train to be flagged off
The Prime Minister would also flag off a new train service between Tambaram and Rameswaram on the occasion. However, the detailed programme of the Prime Minister was not yet known, the General Manager said.
Mr. R.N. Singh, who inspected the Rameswaram railway station where station redevelopment work was underway, said that the work would be completed by September. To a question, Mr. Singh said that technically it was not possible to shift the entire old Pamban rail bridge for preservation as it was in a very bad condition.
However, he said that the bridge would be dismantled and parts of it would be preserved. Madurai Divisional Railway Manager Sharad Srivastava and other senior railway officials accompanied the General Manager.
Published - March 26, 2025 03:35 pm IST
