Pamban Bridge Safety Concerns: In a bid to make sure the continued security and reliability of one in every of India’s most iconic rail buildings, the Railway Board has established a devoted committee to deal with the issues raised by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) concerning the Pamban Bridge. The five-member technical committee can be headed by RK Goel, PED (Bridge), Railway Board. The committee will embody the PED of RDSO, the Chief Bridge Engineer of Southern Railway, the Director of RVNL, and an impartial security knowledgeable.
This transfer comes after a report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS highlighted issues concerning the structural integrity and security requirements of the bridge, which connects the southern tip of India to the remainder of the nation.
In its report, the CRS famous a number of lapses within the planning of the bridge. It identified that the carry span girder was non-RDSO commonplace and designed utilizing international codes, which required RDSO’s involvement within the venture. However, a overview of the information confirmed that, with the assist of the Railway Board, RDSO had uncared for its duty in designing the girder.
The CRS report additionally flagged that for vital bridge tasks like this, a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is often shaped. However, as a result of determination to exclude RDSO from the venture, this step was not adopted within the case of the Pamban Bridge.
The CRS report said that RDSO’s dissociation from the venture resulted in critical penalties, together with deviations from commonplace pointers.
In response, the Ministry of Railways clarified that the Pamban Bridge is a 2.05 km lengthy construction with a novel 72-meter Vertical Lift span, one in every of its form within the nation. The design of the bridge was completed by TYPSA, a world guide, utilizing European and Indian codes. The design was proof-checked by IIT, Chennai.
Given that the bridge was designed by a international guide, the Railway Board acknowledged technical limitations within the design examination by Railways and RDSO. As a consequence, the Railway Board determined to have the design proof-checked by IIT, Mumbai. After the double-proof test, the design was accepted by Southern Railway.
The bridge has been constructed based mostly on a design by a reputed worldwide guide and has undergone rigorous proof-checking by two of the nation’s main institutes. Modifications to the RDSO design for the method girders to accommodate native constraints have additionally been proof-checked by IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, and accepted by Southern Railway.
Additionally, the welding of structural members, which is essential for the bridge’s efficacy, has been 100 per cent inspected utilizing the most recent Phase Array Ultrasonic Testing and checked by the Welding Research Institute, Trichy, with closing take a look at checks performed by Southern Railway.
For corrosion safety, the bridge employs a particular portray scheme utilized in extraordinarily corrosion-prone areas worldwide, using polysiloxane paint with a design lifetime of 35 years. Stainless-steel reinforcement in bolstered concrete building, totally welded field sections within the carry span, the elimination of splice joints within the method span girders, FRP pathways, and enhanced inspection preparations and handrails are among the modern options included to stop corrosion.
The Ministry confirmed that the bridge has been constructed utilizing state-of-the-art design and finest building practices. It has been cleared for operation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. However, the Ministry said that it’s going to comply totally with any additional issues raised by the CRS. The five-member committee has been tasked with evaluating these issues intimately and recommending crucial actions to additional improve the bridge’s security.
