Pamban Bridge inaugurated in April 2025: India’s first sea bridge replaced by a new rail link to Rameswaram

Direct fact

In April 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly constructed Pamban Bridge at Rameswaram, replacing a 110-year-old rail structure that had linked the island town to the Indian mainland.

Key specifics

• The old Pamban Bridge had served for 110 years before the new bridge was opened in 2025.
• The original bridge stood 12.5 metres above sea level and had 145 piers.
• It featured a double-leaf bascule span, also described as a Scherzer rolling lift bridge.
• The idea of linking India and Sri Lanka via the Adam’s Bridge route was first explored in 1876.
• A revised plan was approved in 1906 for a railway line from Madurai to Dhanushkodi via Rameswaram.

Exam lens

Question type: TN history and infrastructure match-the-following, Pamban Bridge, 1876 proposal, 1906 railway plan, 12.5 metres, 145 piers. TNPSC may ask which bridge was India’s first sea bridge and when it was inaugurated.