Ship collides into Pamban Railbridge -Saturday Jan 13,2013

A naval barge  that went adrift  close to the Pamban Rail Bridge has collided on the century old Pamban Rilbridge and reports suggest the damage to the rail bridge is minor.The ship that was towing a naval barge from Kolkatta to a port near Mumbai first went aground hitting rocks on the January 10,2013 following bad weather. It was a disaster waiting to happen as the vessel remained stuck just  50 metres away  from the rail bridge. The barge that was afloat around 100 metres away hit the Pamban Rail Bridge on Jan 13,2013 Saturday morning.

Local port authorities had deployed four fishing trawlers to rescue the ship and the barge.


Southern Railways has suspended rail services to and from Rameswaram as trains bound for the temple town would have go on this  rail bridge.

Note

The rail bridge built across the sea in 1913 with limited technology available then  opens up on both sides to allow ships to pass through and is a major tourist attraction. It connects Rameswaram and the mainland.

Train Services Resume on Pamban Rail Bridge-Sunday Jan 20,2013

 

The Madurai-Rameswaram Passenger train crossed the Pamban rail bridge around 9.50 a.m. on Sunday to reach Rameswaram signalling the resumption of train services that were affected for a week. Train services in the Mandapam-Rameswaram sector remained shut for a week after a barge crashed into the Pamban rail bridge.

After the Railway engineers completed the repair and restoration work on Friday evening, the trial run was successfully completed on Saturday, after which Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Rastogi had announced resumption of train services from Sunday.

The Southern Railway, however, as a precautionary measure, opened the sector for trains operated between 06.00 hrs and 18.00 hrs only. Operation of trains, which cross through the bridge, during nights and early morning, would remain suspended till January 21. “We do not want to take risk during night time,” Mr. Rastogi said adding that normal train services in the sector would resume from January 22,2013.