Ashish Pandey 
New Delhi:
The new 2.05-kilometre Pamban Bridge in Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram, India’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge, is set to be inaugurated in the next few weeks. Dubbed the “modern engineering marvel”, it will replace the existing century-old British-era bridge.
Speaking to NDTV, an official said the bridge will have 100 spans of 18.3 metres each and one navigational span of 63 metres. It will be 3 metres higher than the existing 111-year-old bridge, he said.
“It will improve tourism in the area,” he said.
Another official said the bridge was built using various artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
“The AI technologies are used more in the lifting mechanism when wind velocity reaches more than 50 kmph,” he explained.
Ships will be able to pass underneath the new bridge very easily and won’t require any manpower, he added.
The old Pamban Bridge, which was in operation since 1914, was the only connection to the pilgrimage destination Rameswaram and the popular tourist spot of Dhanushkodi until 1988 when a road bridge was commissioned next to it.
It, however, was decommissioned in 2022 due to corrosion and paved the way for the new bridge.
The old bridge had a manual Scherzer lift span, and single track, and was limited to low-speed trains, with an air clearance of 19 metres. On the other hand, the new bridge has a fully automated vertical lift span and offers a safer 22-metre clearance. It also supports double tracks and electrification and is designed for high-speed trains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new bridge in November 2019 and construction began in February 2020.
The bridge was built for Rs 535 crores by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).
With the inauguration of the bridge, Rameswaram is set to benefit not only from improved rail connectivity but also from an influx of tourism and economic activity.
Neetu