Modi Inaugurates First Vertical-Lift Sea Bridge Linking Rameswaram, Attacks Stalin

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Apr 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin for the state DMK government complaining about lack of adequate financial support from the Centre and said some have a “habit of crying” while claiming that central funding to the state has tripled since 2014.

The remarks came during Mr Modi’s addressing a public gathering after inaugurating the New Pamban Bridge in Rameswaram, the country’s first vertical-lift sea bridge – in Tamil Nadu on the occasion of Ram Navami. He also laid the foundation stone of other road infrastructure projects in the state. He also flagged off a Coast Guard ship – which passed under the bridge – and the new Rameswaram-Tambaram (Chennai) train. PM Modi, who arrived in Tamil Nadu after a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, also performed a puja at the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram and laid the foundation stone of various rail and road projects worth over Rs 8,300 crore in the state.

“The infrastructure of Tamil Nadu is a top priority for the government. In the past decade, the state’s rail budget has increased more than sevenfold. Despite this significant growth, some people continue to complain without justification,” Mr Modi remarked.

He further said Tamil Nadu held a crucial place in India’s journey toward becoming a developed nation, adding that the country’s overall progress would accelerate as the state’s full potential was unlocked. “In the last decade, the central government has allocated three times more funding to Tamil Nadu compared to the period before 2014,” he said.

Mr Modi noted that prior to 2014, Tamil Nadu received an annual allocation of just Rs 900 crore, but this year, the state’s rail budget has surpassed Rs 6,000 crore. He also noted that the central government was modernising 77 railway stations across Tamil Nadu, including the one in Rameswaram. His comments came after DMK accused the Centre of “not releasing sufficient funds to the state despite the government’s prudent management of its finances.”

The New Pamban bridge will replace a 110-year-old structure connecting Rameswaram to the Indian mainland. The idea of linking India and Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, through the Adam’s Bridge route was first explored in 1876. However, the plan was shelved due to high costs. Eventually, a more feasible plan was approved in 1906: a railway line from Madurai to Dhanushkodi via Rameswaram, and a steamer service from Dhanushkodi to Sri Lanka.

The Pamban Bridge, India’s first sea bridge, was an engineering marvel of its time. Standing 12.5 meters above sea level, it stretched across 145 piers and featured a double-leaf bascule span—a Scherzer rolling lift bridge—that opened for ships to pass through.

“The new train service will improve connectivity from Rameswaram to Chennai and other parts of the country. This will benefit both trade and tourism in Tamil Nadu. New jobs and opportunities will also be created for the youth,” the Prime Minister said.

The Ministry of Railways highlights the newly constructed 2.07-kilometre bridge over the Palk Strait in Tamil Nadu as a symbol of India’s advanced engineering and forward-thinking infrastructure planning. Located in Ramanathapuram district, the bridge links Rameswaram Island to Mandapam on the mainland. Developed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Navratna PSU under the Ministry, at a cost of over ₹700 crore, the bridge features a 72.5-metre navigational span that can be vertically lifted to 17 metres, allowing ships to pass below safely.

The bridge can also support two railway tracks, though it currently operates on a single line. It is cleared for train speeds up to 80 kmph and is built to handle increased rail traffic and heavier loads. According to a government release, the new bridge has a projected lifespan of 100 years.

It has been constructed with special engineering techniques that reduce the need for frequent maintenance, and uses stainless steel reinforcement, fully welded joints, high-grade protective paint, and a polysiloxane coating to protect against corrosion in the harsh marine environment.

Two railway stations in Tamil Nadu – Mandapam and Pamban – are close to five kilometres apart and have been connected by trains since 1914 when the Pamban Bridge was built by the British. A couple of trains were crossing the stations daily. But the Pamban Bridge was getting old and couldn’t bear the burden of these trains.

Of the five km distance between the two stations, two kilometres is the length of the Bay of Bengal between the mainland of India and Pamban Island. While Mandapam was the last railway station on mainland India, Pamban is a small station situated on Pamban Island, which further connects to the Rameswaram railway station.

After serving for more than 100 years, the old Pamban Bridge needed rest and constant repair and maintenance. In 2019, it was decided to build a parallel bridge. But before the new bridge could be built, the old one was announced unfit and was decommissioned in December 2022. The train operations on the bridge remained suspended from December 2022 and all the trains were ending their trips at Mandapam station. But the inauguration of the new Pamban Bridge has ended the wait. The trains will now again cross the Bay of Bengal to reach the stations on Pamban island.

Close to 30 trains, with up and down journeys, are expected from Rameswaram station depending on their schedules during the week. The Rameswaram station is very important because there are direct trains from Varanasi and Ayodhya for the southernmost station. The journey of these trains was only as far as Mandapam station when the sea bridge was suspended.

Among the trains that will cater to Rameswaram is the newly launched Rameswaram-Tambaram daily express train that will take 11 hours and 30 minutes to complete the journey. The sleeper class on this train has already been fully booked throughout the first week. The island will have direct trains from Secunderabad, Kanniyakumari, Bhubaneswar, Okha, and Firozpur Cantt, apart from Ayodhya, Varanasi and Chennai.

Taking inspiration from the Tower Bridge in London, the new Pamban Bridge was built using 5,800 metric tonnes of stainless steel and 340,000 bags of cement. Initially, the estimated cost of the bridge was Rs 280 crore. This went up to Rs 580 crore and eventually to Rs 704 crore, as shared by the Railways on Sunday.

The Pamban Bridge is being compared to famous ones like the Golden Gate Bridge in the USA, Tower Bridge in the UK, and the Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden because of its modern design and technology. The old Pamban Bridge was built in 1914 by British engineers. It used a manually operated Scherzer’s span (a type of rolling lift bridge). The pass over was shut to rail traffic due to safety concerns.

On the way back from Sri Lanka, PM Modi witnessed the Ram Setu and shared an aerial video. “On the way back from Sri Lanka a short while ago, was blessed to have a Darshan of the Ram Setu. And, as a divine coincidence, it happened at the same time as the Surya Tilak was taking place in Ayodhya. Blessed to have the Darshan of both. Prabhu Shri Ram is a uniting force for all of us. May His blessings always remain upon us,” he wrote in a post on X.

Ram Setu, also known as the Adams Bridge, is a chain of shoals linking India and Sri Lanka. It stretches 48 km between Rameswaram Island, off the southeast coast of India, and connecting the Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. It separates the Gulf of Mannar (south), an inlet of the Indian Ocean, from the Palk Strait (north), an inlet of the Bay of Bengal.