Lapses in Construction of New Pamban Bridge

The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) flagged significant lapses in planning and execution of New Pamban Bridge. The Railway Board has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the issues.

Lapses Identified by the CRS

The lift span girder was designed using foreign codes rather than RDSO
The standard procedure of forming a Technical Advisory Group for large infrastructure projects was bypassed.
Welding of primary stressed members ( bottom and top chords) occurred at the site, violating the Welded Bridge Code (set of guidelines for the use of metal-arc welding in the construction of steel bridges).

About New Pamban Bridge

It is India’s first vertical-lift railway sea bridge.
The bridge is 05 km long, featuring a unique 72-m vertical lift span for ship movement.
It connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to Mandapam on the mainland in Tamil Nadu.
It will replace the iconic Pamban Bridge, India’s first sea bridge, which opened in 1914.
The new bridge is being built parallel to the old Pamban Bridge by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited.

Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO)

It is the sole Research and Development organisation of Indian Railways headquartered in Lucknow (UP).
The KAVACH system was developed by RDSO.
RDSO was the first Institution to be declared a Standard Developing Organization (SDO) under One Nation One Standard mission of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Functions:
- Technical advisor to Railway Board, Zonal Railways and Production Units.
- Develops new and improved designs for railway equipment.
- Develops standards for materials and products, and provides detailed technical specifications for vendors.