In a first of its kind, the Railways have decided to use a span made of Aluminium alloy in a steel rail bridge and the ageing Scherzer’s span at the century-old Pamban Rail Bridge would be replaced with an aluminium alloy span.
After deciding to replace the Scherzer’s span, designed by a German Engineer to pave way for vessels to pass through the Palk Strait, the officials were exploring the options of using Corrosion Resistant Steel (CRS) or less weight Aluminium alloy and decided in favour of the latter, M. Suyambulingam, Chief Engineer (Bridges), said.
“It has been decided to make the span in Aluminium alloy, which has superior strength and longer life in the highly corrosive area,” Mr. Suyambulingam, who was here on Saturday to inspect the regirdering work, told The Hindu .
Some foreign firms have expressed interest in supplying the material and the firm would be finalised after completing the tender process, he said. The pre-bid meeting was already over, he added.
Work in November
Depending upon the mobilisation of the material, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) would start the replacement work in November, he said. RVNL was chosen by the Indian Railways to execute the project.
The aluminium technology was a new technology and the Indian Railways would be using the aluminium technology for the first time in its steel rail bridges, he said.
The Railways had already sanctioned Rs. 35 crore for replacing the existing 66-metre-long two leaves Scherzer’s span with a single truss span.
The single span type was designed by the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras.
The Railways had already sanctioned Rs. 35 crore for replacing the existing Scherzer’s span
