Pamban Bridge — India
The Pamban Bridge is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait connects
Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. It refers to both the
road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means
the latter. It was India's first sea bridge. It is the second longest
sea bridge in India (after Bandra-Worli Sea Link) at a length of about
2.3 km. The rail bridge is for the most part, a conventional bridge
resting on concrete piers, but has a double leaf bascule section midway,
which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. The railway
bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) and was opened for traffic in 1914. The
railroad bridge is a still-functioning double-leaf bascule bridge
section that can be raised to let ships pass under the bridge.
The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but
Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a
project that finished Aug. 12, 2007. Until recently, the two leaves of
the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. About 10 ships —
cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers —
pass through the bridge every month. From the elevated two-lane road
bridge, adjoining islands and the parallel rail bridge below can be
viewed.
After completion of bridge metre-gauge lines were laid by them from
Mandapam up to Pamban Station, from here the railway lines bifurcated
into two directions one towards Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km)
up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminating at
Dhanushkodi. The section was opened to traffic in 1914. 10 more images after the break...
