In Pics: Most Dangerous Railway Bridge That Connects Mandapam To Rameswaram

The sight of the train running at 80 km/h on this bridge, which is built over the sea, was truly thrilling. The first trial run on the country's first vertical lift railway bridge has been completed. It is expected that train services will begin on this bridge soon.

The biggest feature of this bridge, which passes over the sea, is that while trains will run on it, large ships will also pass underneath. You may have never seen such a bridge before, where trains run, but when ships approach, the bridge lifts vertically upwards. Once the ships pass, the bridge lowers back down and connects with the tracks. In this way, this bridge is nothing short of a miracle.

The Pamban Bridge is a marvel of engineering. It is India's first vertical lift sea bridge. The lifting span of the bridge and tests were conducted on the Rameswaram side. The new bridge is 3 meters taller than the old one. It has been designed in such a way that large ships can pass underneath it. At 2.2 kilometers in length, this bridge is the longest bridge built over a bay in India. When ships approach the bridge, trains are stopped, and the bridge is lifted upwards to create a path for the ships to pass.

The speed of trains on the old Pamban Bridge was just 10 km/h, while on the new bridge, trains can travel at 80 km/h. This means travel time will be significantly reduced; what once took an hour will now be completed in just 20 minutes. Additionally, the old bridge required manual operation to open for ships, with 40 people working together to lift it. In contrast, the new bridge will be opened hydraulically, taking just 5 minutes

The new Pamban Bridge is a 2,070-meter (6,790 feet) long vertical lift sea bridge, built parallel to the existing Pamban Bridge. The new bridge will have 100 spans across the sea, of which 99 will be 18.3 meters long and one will be 72.5 meters long. It is 3 meters taller than the existing bridge.