Trains services in the Mandapam – Rameswaram sector were disrupted for the second day on Thursday as high velocity gusty wind swept the Pamban and Mandapam areas since Thursday evening.
Four trains suffered a delay of more than four hours and they could not pass through the Pamban rail bridge till 8.30 p.m. as the wind continued to blow at a speed of more than 60 km per hour, Railway sources said.
The Rameswaram-Tirupati express which left Rameswaram at 4 p.m. was stopped ahead of the bridge at Pamban and was waiting for the green signal for about four hours, the sources said. The Rameswaram-Chennai express, which left Rameswaram at 5 p.m. was stopped at Pamban station, they said.
The Rameswaram-Madurai passenger and Rameswaram-Chennai superfast express were detained in Rameswaram, the sources said. The Okha – Rameswaram weekly express was stopped at Mandapam station after it reached the station around 6 p.m., the sources added.
Railway officials said they could operate the trains only if the wind speed subsided but there was no respite till 8.30 p.m.. The anemometer installed at both ends of the Pamban rail bridge, connecting the island with the mainland by rail would turn the signal green only if the wind speed came down below the permissible limit of 58 km per hour, they said.
On Wednesday, three trains, including the Rameswaram – Chennai express suffered a delay of more than three hours following gusty wind. Train services were resumed after 6.45 p.m. when the speed of the wind came down to below 58 km per hour, the sources said.
