1st vertical lift railway sea bridge inaugurated in Rameswaram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly built Pamban bridge, which is India's first vertical railway sea bridge, at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on 6th April 2025. The Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone, and dedicated to the nation various rail and road projects worth over Rs 8,300 crore in Rameswaram.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Tamil Nadu after the conclusion of his official visit to Sri Lanka, where he was conferred with Sri Lanka's highest civilian award, Mitra Vibhushana.

Newly Built Pamban Bridge

The newly built Pamban bridge has been built adjacent to the old Pamban bridge.

It replaces the 110-year-old Pamban Bridge, which was decommissioned in 2022.

Features of the new Bridge 

It is the country's first vertical railway sea bridge.

It is 2.08 Km long, connecting Rameswaram, located in Pamban Island in Palk Strait, to Mandapam town in mainland Tamil Nadu.

The bridge has been built by  Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) of the Indian Railways at a cost of over Rs 700 crore.

The bridge has a ‘vertical lift span’ of 72.5 metres in the middle, which can lift upwards 17 metres so that the ship can pass underneath. 

The bridge has been made of stainless steel reinforcements, fully welded joints.

It has high-grade protective paint and special polysiloxane coating to protect against corrosion that will increase its durability and reduce maintenance needs. 

The bridge has been designed to support dual rail tracks to meet future transportation traffic.

About Old Pamban Bridge 

The construction of the old Pamban  Bridge started in 1911 during the British era and was opened to the public in 1914.

It was the first sea bridge of India and was the longest sea bridge until the 5.6 km long Bandra-Worli sea link opened in 2010.

The 2.2 km long Pamban Bridge survived the 1964 tsunami, which struck Pamban Island on 23 December 1964. 

All the coaches of the 653 Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger train crossing the bridge at around 11 pm on that fateful day, en route to Dhanushkodi from Rameswaram, were washed away..

Projects inaugurated/foundation stone laid by the  Prime Minister 

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone /inaugurated the following projects in Tamil Nadu

He laid the foundation stone for the four-laning of the 28 Km long Walajapet – Ranipet section of NH-40.;

He inaugurated the 4-lane, 29 Km long Villupuram – Puducherry section of NH-332;

57 Km long Poornankuppam – Sattanathapuram section of NH-32.

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PM Modi honoured with ‘Mitra Vibhushana’ award of Sri Lanka