Pamban Bridge
Pamban Bridge was a railway bridge that connected the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to Mandapam on mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra–Worli Sea Link in 2010. It was a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers with a double-leaf bascule section midway, which could be raised to let ships and barges pass through.
The Pamban bridge was the only surface transport link that connected Rameswaram to the mainland India until 1988, when a road bridge was constructed parallel to the railway bridge. In 2020, construction of a new bridge closer to the existing one began which was planned to eventually replace the existing bridge. In December 2022, rail transportation on the bridge was suspended permanently as the bascule section had weakened significantly due to corrosion.
History
Plans for a bridge to connect to mainland were suggested in 1870 as the British Administration sought ways to increase trade with Ceylon. The construction began in August 1911. The bridge was opened for traffic on 24 February 1914 and connected Rameshwaram on Pamban Island to the town of Mandapam on the mainland.The bridge was damaged during the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and required extensive repair work. The adjacent road bridge was opened in 1988. In 2009, further strengthening work was carried out on the bridge under the supervision of E. Sreedharan to enable it to withstand heavier freight trains. On 13 January 2013, the bridge required repair work to the piers after suffering a minor damage from a naval barge. In 2016, the Ministry of Railways sanctioned to replace the existing long rolling type span with a long single truss span which could be opened automatically. In December 2018, train movement was halted to carry out repairs when a fissure was noticed on one of the spans. Rail movement on the bridge was restored in March 2019.
In 2020, the Government of India announced a new railway bridge will be constructed near the old Pamban Bridge at a cost of. In December 2022, rail transportation on the bridge was suspended permanently as the bascule section had weakened significantly due to corrosion and in February 2023, the Indian Railways announced that the train traffic to Rameshwaram would be restored once the new bridge is completed. The New Pamban Bridge was completed in 2024 and was opened for traffic in April 2025.