Sun Apr 06 17:20:33 UTC 2025: ## New Pamban Rail Bridge Malfunctions During Inauguration

**RAMESWARAM, Tamil Nadu, April 6, 2025** – The newly inaugurated Pamban Rail Bridge, hailed by the Railway Ministry as an engineering marvel, experienced a technical glitch shortly after its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The bridge’s vertical lift span, designed to allow ships to pass beneath, became stuck midway during its lowering operation after being raised to allow a naval vessel through the Pamban channel.

While a senior railway official downplayed the incident as a “minor teething problem,” the malfunction, which lasted approximately 30 minutes, saw the 654-tonne lift span become slanted as one end (Pamban) stuck while the other (Mandapam) lowered unevenly. The incident proved embarrassing for officials, especially considering the bridge’s sophisticated electromechanical system controlled by computer software, a significant upgrade from the manually operated old bridge. The official stated that seven trains, including the inaugural Rameswaram-Tambaram service, had successfully traversed the new bridge earlier in the day.

The vertical lift span, capable of rising 17 meters in 5 minutes and 30 seconds, was successfully lowered after troubleshooting. Despite the incident, the Prime Minister’s inauguration of the bridge proceeded as planned, with the bridge intended to facilitate faster train movement and improved ship navigation.

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