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Pamban Bridge gauge conversion work may now take till April 15

Staff Reporter

10-15 per cent of the work is yet to be completed; final part of work highly technical

OFFICIAL INSPECTION: Railway officials reviewing gauge conversion work on Pamban bridge on Monday.

RAMESWARAM: Tough working conditions may delay the broad gauge conversion of the Pamban Bridge by one more month.

The conversion of the 2.3-km-long bridge, across the Palk Strait between Rameswaram and the mainland, started in June 2006.

Southern Railway had initially planned to complete the work by March 31 and to start traffic on April 1.

Though rails have been re-laid to broad gauge specifications, officials estimate that 10-15 per cent of the work is yet to be completed.

Moreover, the final portion of the work is highly technical, with important safety implications.

225 workers drafted

Experienced employees of the Engineering Workshop at Arakonam and field staff members of the South Central and Northern Railway have been drafted to speed up the work. "We have mobilised 225 workers specialised in bridge work. We have a realistic chance of completing the work by April 15. We will have to review the work again to fix the date for opening the bridge for traffic," said Thomas Varghese, General Manager, Southern Railway, who inspected the work on Monday.

The riveting work was on in different parts of the bridge. So far, 18,000 of the 30,000 rivets have been driven in. The Railway Board was extending all help, Mr. Varghese said.

Test run

A.K. Sinha, Chief Bridge Engineer, Southern Railway, said all safety standards would be met.

After a test run on April 10, the Commissioner for Railway Safety would be called for an inspection.

Mr. Varghese said the progress of the gauge conversion on the Manamadurai-Rameswaram section was satisfactory. The Karaikudi-Manama durai section would be closed on April 1 for gauge conversion.

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