Previous Year Question
With reference to the New Pamban Bridge, which of the following statements is/are correct?
It was constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, which is a ‘Navratna’ public sector unit under the Ministry of Railways.
It is India’s first vertical lift railway sea bridge.
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Only 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Both 1 and 2
Only 1
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. The New Pamban Bridge was constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways.
Statement 2 is also correct. The New Pamban Bridge is India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge. It connects mainland India with Rameswaram Island in Tamil Nadu.
The new bridge is approximately 2.07 km long. Its most distinctive engineering feature is a 72.5-metre navigational vertical-lift span, which can be raised by about 17 metres to allow larger vessels to pass underneath. The old Pamban Bridge used a Scherzer rolling-lift mechanism, whereas the new bridge uses a vertical-lift mechanism.
The project was sanctioned in 2019. The New Pamban Bridge was inaugurated/dedicated to the nation on 6 April 2025, when its rail and maritime operation was also demonstrated.