Alignment for new Pamban Rail Bridge inspected

Railway Board Chairman reviews proposed Rameswaram-Dhanushkodi line

Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav inspecting the Pamban Rail Bridge along with senior railway officials on Sunday.

A couple of days after Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) launched the construction of ‘New Pamban Rail Bridge’ across Pamban channel and opened its Project Office in Pamban, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav inspected the alignments of the new bridge and the existing more than century-old bridge on Sunday.

Mr. Yadav, accompanied by Southern Railway General Manager John Thomas, Divisional Railway Manager (Madurai) V. R. Lenin, RVNL Chief Project Manager (Coordination) B. Kamalakara Reddy and Southern Railway Chief Bridge Engineer (CBE) Abdul Rahman inspected the old bridge by walking down on the Scherzer’s span – the central span, which was retrofitted recently after some portion developed cracks.

He later inspected the alignments for the new bridge, built, parallel to the existing bridge by travelling in the Indian Coast Guard’s Hovercraft. RVNL, which was entrusted with the prestigious project of constructing the ‘New Bridge Pamban Viaduct,’ has commenced the preliminary works, a few days ago after engaging Ahmedabad based Ranjit Buildcon Limited for the project.

Earlier, Mr Yadav, after offering worship at the Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, held a meeting with the officials at the newly opened Project Management Consultancy office in Pamban. Mr Reddy presented him the project details with drawings and photographs and informed that that the new bridge with 100 spans would be completed in 24 months. The 2.05 km-long bridge was being built at a cost of ₹240 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone, while addressing an election rally in Kanniyakumari in March.

Mr. Yadav sought several clarifications in the hour-long meeting, officials said adding officials of both RVNL and the contract company offered clarifications. He also reviewed the proposed new railway line between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi, the pilgrim town which was ravaged in the 1964 cyclone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the ₹208 crore project in January, while laying the foundation stone for the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai. Mr. Yadav also planted trees at the project office site along with other officials, marking his visit.