Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureContemporary Tamil Nadu

New Pamban rail bridge opens

· Pamban Island

New Pamban rail bridge opens
Prime Minister's Office, GODL-India · Wikimedia Commons

India's first vertical lift sea bridge, linking Rameswaram island to the mainland, replaced the 1914 Pamban Bridge.

Rail traffic on the original Pamban Bridge, opened in 1914, was suspended permanently in December 2022 because its bascule section had been weakened by corrosion. Construction of the New Pamban Bridge began in February 2020 and was completed in 2024 at a cost of about Rs 5 billion. The 2.07 km bridge, with a 72 metre vertical lift span to let ships pass, was opened on 6 April 2025. It restored the rail link between the mainland and Rameswaram on Pamban Island.

Related events

  1. 1914

    1. 24 Feb 1914Pamban IslandInfrastructure

      Pamban railway bridge opens

      The Pamban Bridge, India's first sea bridge, opened, linking Rameswaram on Pamban Island to the mainland by rail.

  2. 1988

    1. 1988Pamban IslandInfrastructure

      Road bridge to Rameswaram opened

      A road bridge parallel to the Pamban railway bridge opened, giving Rameswaram island its first road link to the mainland.

  3. 2008

    1. 26 Oct 2008Kathipara JunctionInfrastructure

      Kathipara cloverleaf grade separator opens

      The Kathipara cloverleaf interchange near Guindy, one of the largest in South Asia at the time, was fully opened to traffic.

  4. 2015

    1. 29 Jun 2015ChennaiInfrastructure

      Chennai Metro begins service

      The first stretch of Chennai Metro, between Koyambedu and Alandur, opened to passengers.

  5. 2023

    1. 17 Dec 2023 to 19 Dec 2023ThoothukudiDisaster

      Floods in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli

      Record rainfall flooded Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts as the Thamirabarani river overflowed.

  6. 2024

    1. 30 Dec 2024KanyakumariInfrastructure

      Glass bridge links Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock

      A glass-floored pedestrian bridge over the sea linking the Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock Memorial was opened at Kanyakumari.

Open in the timeline explorer