Pamban Bridge enters hundredth year!

Almost for a century it remained to be India’s longest sea link, until 2010 when Bandra-Worli sea link was opened. Pamban rail Bridge on Palk Strait in Tamilnadu state of India was opened for traffic in 1914. It has now entered into its hundredth year. This sea link is 2.3 kilometres long and it connects Indian mainland to the Pamban island. Pamban island houses one of the most important pilgrimage sites in India- Rameshwaram. Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi are mythologically related to epic of Ramayana. The rail bridge also has a parallel road link but it was built quite later.  Bridge located at the world’s second highest corrosive environment after Miami and in highly cyclone prone area was a challenge to build and was certainly an engineering marvel

Train from Madurai crossing the bridge to enter the Pamban island

For almost a century it used to be India’s biggest sea link and only one with a double leaf bascule

Train entering the Pamban island housing the famour pilgrimage site of Rameshwaram

A boat anchored just below the bridge

Railway staff inspecting the track immediately after the train passes through

Pamban rail bridge is for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. But these are big fishermen boats mostly. The raising of the bridge is itself a tourist spectacle. Rameshwaram is the site for Ramanathswamy temple considered to be one of the original Four Dhams (pilgrimage centres) in Hindu mythology. Dhanushkodi is the place where we have mythological Ramsety or Adam’s bridge which seems like a (coral)land connect between India and Sri Lanka, passing through Gulf of Mannar

A bridge was nothing less than an engineering marvel at that time, when it was built in 1914

The double leaf bascule is still a functioning one which opens to let the ships pass through

There is a road bridge parallel to it, but it was constructed quite later

Fishermen boats in the Pamban Bay close to Palk Strait as seen from Pamban bridge

Bridge was built by Britishers to Dhanushkodi port on Pamban island

Nearest big station on the mainland India connecting Pamban island is Madurai in Tamilnadu. There are a few daily trains connecting Rameshwaram through Pamban bridge. Madurai is also the nearest airport.  Besides this bridge, Pamban has many tourist attractions and is worth visiting anytime of the year, barring months of monsson rains.