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The Pamban Branch Railway was a metre gauge(MG) single line completed in 1914 by the South Indian Railway Company(SIR). [1] The line linked the SIR network in India at Mandupam with the Island of Rameswaram, from where there was a ferry connection to Ceylon.
Background
A railway to link Dhaneshkodi in India to Talaimannar in Ceylon, a distance of 22 miles(35km), was a constant challenge to railway engineers. The route would follow the chain of limestone shoals known as Adam's Bridge between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka [2]
The route was first considered in 1876 but no definite was taken until 1894 with a proposal from the Ceylon Government, followed a year later by a survey by the Indian Government. These proposals were considered a greater outlay than the anticipated traffic would justify and the idea of bridging the sea was abandoned ref> Southern Railway Heritage Centre "Marvels of the South Indian Railway 1859-1951", pages 63-64 </ref>.
Also described as the Madura-Pamban Railway in some records, it was surveyed by Ernest Ifill Shadbolt between the years of 1888 and 1893. (see 'Personnel' below)
History
- 1908. After much consultion it was decided to build a viaduct from Dhaneshkodi to Talaimannar with a "Scherzer Rolling Lifting Bridge" over the Pamban Pass shipping passage.
Also described as the Madura-Pamban Railway in some records, it was first surveyed by Ernest Ifill Shadbolt between the years of 1888 and 1893. (see 'Personnel' below)
It involved the construction of the Pamban Viaduct across the submerged reef lying between the mainland of India and the Island of Panbam(Rameswaram) [3].
Prior to the construction of this line, traffic between India and Ceylon was carried via Tuticorin and Colombo, a route which line, which has necessitated a 12-hours' sea journey. This branch then became the main line, extended to Mandapam, on the mainland of India.
Records
An on-line search of the India Office Records(IOR) records relating to this railway [4] gives the following: -
- L/F/8/16/1095 “South Indian Railway Company Limited, Contract as to the construction and working of the Pamban Branch and the Travancore Branch; 1901"
Personnel
No Staff Lists have been found.
The “Indian Biographical Dictionary” gives Ernest Ifill Shadbolt, Public Works Department, Executive Engineer from 1888 to 1893 as 'Engineer-in-Chief of the Madura-Pamban Railway Survey also Bezwada-Madras and Tinnevelly-Quilon Railway Surveys ' [5]
References
- ↑ Wikipedia "Pamban_Bridge"; Retrieved 21 Jun 2016
- ↑ Wikipedia "Adam's Bridge"; Retrieved 21 Jun 2016
- ↑ Institution of Civil Engineers "Minutes of the Proceedings" Volume 199, Issue 1915, 01 January 1915 , pages 377 –387; Retrieved 13 Dec 2015
- ↑ “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved 26 Jan 2016
- ↑ “Indian Biographical Dictionary” 1915 page 390; Retrieved on 27 May 2016