‘Teething problem’ in vertical lift span of new Pamban Rail Bridge leaves railway officials scrambling

The centre span became stuck midway for nearly 30 minutes while being lowered

The vertical lift span of the new Pamban Rail Bridge, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 6, 2025), caused concern among senior railway officials when the lifted centre span became stuck midway as it was being lowered. However, a senior railway official dismissed the issue as a minor teething problem, which was eventually resolved.

Also read: PM Modi in Tamil Nadu: Pamban Bridge inauguration highlights

“Seven trains, including the inaugural run of the Rameswaram-Tambaram train, have run over the new bridge today,” the official stated.

While the Railway Ministry has described the new rail bridge as an engineering marvel, enabling ships to navigate beneath it allowing faster train movement, the incident with the lift span proved embarrassing for officials.

The vertical lift span operates through an electromechanical system, controlled by computer software, in contrast to the old bridge’s Scherzer span, which required manual operation by 16 workers. Officials said that the 654-tonne vertical lift can be raised to a height of 17 metres in 5 minutes and 30 seconds, with the same time required to lower it back.

However, during this incident, while the Pamban-end of the lift span got stuck, the other end (Mandapam) lowered unevenly, leaving the span in a slanted position. After approximately 30 minutes of troubleshooting, officials managed to bring the lift back down.

Published - April 06, 2025 10:50 pm IST