New railway bridge in Rameswaram likely to be operational soon

Rameswaram: Rail connectivity to this island that attracts thousands of devotees every day from across India is likely to be restored in the next few months with the Southern Railway fast-tracking work on a new bridge being built in the sea to replace the 110-year-old iconic Cantilever bridge. 

The new structure, which will be the country’s first vertical lift sea bridge, will have 100 spans with 99 spans of 18.3 m length and one navigational span of 72.5m length across the sea and the sub-structure is being built for an additional railway track in case there is a need for doubling of the tracks in the future. 

Train services to the island were suspended in December 2022 after cracks were found in the 110-year-old Cantilever Bridge, whose spans lifted both sides to allow ships to pass through the coast. Trains to Rameswaram island are now terminated 20 km away at Mandapam railway station, from where devotees and tourists avail bus or cabs to reach the island.

The railway bridge under construction in Rameswaram.

Before a road bridge was constructed in 1988, trains were the only source of transport other than boats to reach Rameswaram island from the Indian mainland. 

Three meters higher than the existing Cantilever bridge, which was built in 1914 during the British regime to connect the mainland with the Rameswaram island, work on the new 2.07-km bridge started in 2020 and it got delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic and a slew of challenges since the structure is being constructed in the sea off the Pamban coast.

The vertical lift span, which has been fabricated away from the sea coast and approved by RDSO (Research Designs and Standards Organisation), has been launched for 200 metres in the sea and will cover the remaining 228 metres of the total 428 metres in the coming weeks. 

"The final launch of the vertical span will take time as it is being moved slowly to its position. The vertical span is being moved in the sea from the Rameswaram side of the bridge", a senior Southern Railway official told DH.

The official added that Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which is constructing the bridge, plans to complete the construction by June following which a slew of tests will be conducted before the brand-new bridge is thrown open for rail traffic. 

"Since the construction is inside the sea and it is a challenging task, we have had to push deadlines. We hope to resume commercial train operations by the end of 2024", another official said. 

Being built at an estimated cost of Rs 280 crore, the bridge will lift up vertically, allowing even ships that are large in size to also pass through the Rameswaram coast now.

While the track has been linked for 1.50 km from Mandapam-end and trial movement of goods train (BFR with OHE masts) has been done, remaining length of 0.60 km of track will be laid along with launching of approach spans from Pamban End.

The second official said a lifting tower has been erected on Mandapam end of navigation channel and the same is under erection on Pamban end of the channel.

PTI on May 9 quoted a senior RNVL official to say that the biggest challenge in the project is the 2.65 degree of curved alignment of the new bridge. 

"Had it been straight, we would have moved it faster. Once we cross the curved portion, we can expedite its movement. We have taken a huge precaution while moving it in the sea as its size and weight requires great precision at each step", the official told PTI. 

The old structure, which is a major tourist attraction for pilgrims visiting Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi, was severely damaged by a cyclone in 1964 that flattened the tiny island of Dhanuskodi, but was restored in a record 46 days by a team of engineers led by the then young E Sreerdharan, now known as India’s "Metro Man".