Back جسر بامبان Arabic পম্বন সেতু AS পামবন সেতু Bengali/Bangla Pambanský most Czech Pamban-Brücke German Puente de Pamban Spanish پل پامبان FA पाम्बन पुल HI パーンバン橋 Japanese ಪಂಬನ್ ಸೇತುವೆ KN
Pamban Bridge | |
|---|---|
 A train on the Pamban bridge in 2016 | |
| Coordinates | 9°16′57.25″N 79°12′5.91″E / 9.2825694°N 79.2016417°E |
| Carries | Rail |
| Locale | Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Owner | Indian Railways |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 2,065 metres (6,775 ft) |
| No. of spans | 144 |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | Broad gauge |
| Electrified | Rigid Overhead Catenary System |
| History | |
| Construction start | August 1911 |
| Construction end | February 1914 |
| Opened | 24 February 1914 |
| Closed | 23 December 2022 |
| Replaced by | New Pamban Bridge |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | Suspended |
| Location | |
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Pamban Bridge (Tamil: [paːmbɐn], romanised: pāmban) was a railway bridge that connected the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island with Mandapam in mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra–Worli Sea Link in 2010. It was a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers with a double-leaf bascule section midway, which could be raised to let ships and barges pass through.
The Pamban bridge was the only surface transport link that connected Rameswaram to the mainland India until 1988, when a road bridge was constructed parallel to the railway bridge. In 2020, construction of a new bridge closer to the existing one began which was planned to eventually replace the existing bridge. In December 2022, rail transportation on the bridge was suspended permanently as the bascule section had weakened significantly due to corrosion.