As gusty wind continued to lash Pamban and Mandapam areas, preventing rail services on the Pamban Rail Bridge for the fifth day on Monday, the Madurai division of the Southern Railway moved empty rakes of express trains on the bridge and operated them from Mandapam.
As the high velocity wind started blowing right from the afternoon, the Railway authorities, considering the safety of the passengers, moved empty rakes of Rameswaram – Tirupati express (16780), scheduled to leave Rameswaram at 4 p.m. and Rameswaram – Chennai express (16852), scheduled to leave at 5 p.m. and operated them from Mandapam.
After passengers in Rameswaram were transported to Mandapam in buses, the Tirupati express left Mandapam at 4. 30 p.m. and the Chennai express at 5. 30 p.m. The authorities faced difficulties in moving the empty rakes also on the bridge as the wind speed came down below the permissible limit of 58 km only for a brief time.
The authorities terminated the Madurai – Rameswaram passenger train at Mandapam and operated it from there in the return direction in the evening. The Rameswaram – Chennai Sethu express, scheduled to leave Rameswaram at 8. 15 p.m. was stationed in Rameswaram, officials said. The train would leave the island after the wind speed comes down, they said.
Whenever the wind speed crossed 58 km per hour, the anemometers, installed on both sides of the bridge automatically turn the signal red. The authorities could not operate trains on the bridge according to the schedule in the last four days in view of high velocity wind.
