Madurai Divisional Railway Manager Sharad Srivastava conducts test run of empty rakes on the new rail bridge across Pamban channel on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: L. BALACHANDAR
Under the inspection of Madurai Divisional Railway Manager Sharad Srivastava, Madurai Division of Southern Railway on Saturday conducted a trial of lifting the centre spans of both the old and the new rail bridges for a dry run of an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessel through the Pamban Channel under the bridges.
Following the inspection, Mr. Srivastava speaking to the media, said they would like to preserve the old Pamban bridge, but also wanted to make sure that it was structurally stong to withstand regular movements.
“As the bridge is to be opened again and again, it will be having a pressure on that. So, preserving and maintaining the old bridge will have to be looked into,” he added.
On the possibility of operating additional trains from Rameswaram, he said that only after the inauguration of the new rail bridge would a decision be taken on operation of additional trains.
Scherzer’s span of the old rail bridge and the vertical span of the new bridge were lifted to allow passing of the ICG vessel. After the vessel passed, the vertical lift was lowered for train operation.
Published – February 08, 2025 08:43 pm IST