Pamban railway bridge will be strengthened

Ramanathapuram:The Pamban railway bridge will be strengthened to operate goods trains, Railway Board Chairman J.P. Batra said on Friday."I am fully satisfied with the safety aspects. The Commissioner for Railway Safety has cleared it for operating passenger trains. The next steps will be to operate goods trains... ," Mr. Batra told the The Hindu on Friday after inspecting the bridge, which was recently converted to broad gauge using indigenous technology.Thomas Varghese, General Manager, Southern Railway, A.K Sinha, Chief Bridge Engineer, Southern Railway, and other officials accompanied Mr. Batra.

"All changes on the Pamban bridge were done based on consultation and certification by the Indian Institute of Technology-Chennai, Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, and a number of leading research laboratories, which are the authorised certifying agencies."Member, Engineering [Railway Board], and a team of members made a presentation before the President Abdul Kalam about the changes being made so that it [the bridge] remains safe for operating passenger trains," Mr. Batra said.Asked whether Railways would construct a new bridge as an alternative to the 100-year-old bridge, Mr. Batra said it was not correct to say that the structure should be demolished considering its age.The decision to strengthen it was taken based on its condition, and after various studies.

Mr. Batra said it had been decided to employ a motor to lift the bridge. It would be designed by IIT-Chennai. It would bring down the time to lift the bridge from 30 minutes to just 5 minutes. Till the work was completed, the lifting would be done manually.He said the Minister for Railway had written to President Abdul Kalam, inviting him to open the Manamadurai-Rameswaram section for traffic. "We are awaiting a date from him."