A Journey to the Pamban Bridge
Rameswaram Train Journey
I’ve traveled extensively in the main colorful land of Incredible India, and I’ve always preferred a train journey. I’ll never forget taking the train across the Pamban Bridge, which connects Rameswaram Island to the mainland. In reality, that was a thrilling train ride that I enjoyed on my way to Ramesvaram.
The Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge that connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to the Indian mainland via the Palk Strait. The term “bridge” refers to both a road bridge and a cantilever railway bridge, though it primarily refers to the latter.
It was India’s first sea bridge when it opened on February 24, 1914, and it was the longest sea bridge in India until the Bandra-Worli Sea Link opened in 2010.
But what a beauty she is! You are surrounded by clear blue water as far as the eye can see. Pamban Bridge is only 1 meter wide and 2.5 kilometers long. While the train is on this perilous bridge, the speed is reduced to 20–30 km/h. The experience was a once-in-a-lifetime hair-raising Rail Ride.
Our first sight of the sea came near the Mandapam halt. It was early evening when the train came to a brief stop there. Few passengers boarded down and a few boarded up.
As the train moved ahead of Mandapam, the sea could be seen on both sides. The road ran parallel to the railroad tracks. The landscape changed quickly, indicating that we were approaching a coastal area.
In a frenzy of excitement, I dashed to the door for an uninterrupted viewing.
The calm and peaceful Arabian sea was right in front of me.
The blue sky had been bowed somewhere in the horizon to meet the sea.
In the west of the sky, a colorful magic was being performed.
There were fewer coconut palms and more oil palms and fruit palms (Palmyra). The terrain changed as well, and the area had more dry sand than soil. I grabbed my camera and focused on capturing this once-in-a-lifetime hair-raising adventure. Soon after, I realized that it was better to save the entire scene in the memory chip of my mind and heart, where it would never fade with time.
This was a prized moment — one I had been anticipating for a long time. The train crept slowly towards Rameswaram, crossing the Pamban Bridge. The bay was green and very appealing, in contrast to the brackish color of the Arabian Sea. Fishing activities were at their peak — the train took about 15 minutes to cross the 2.3-kilometer-long Pamban Bridge.
Sunset was late in the evening, with bursts of gold on lavender melting into saffron. It’s that time of day when the sky looks like it’s been spray-painted by a graffiti artist. The mighty ocean was beneath my feet when a fragrant breeze drifted up from the calm sea, touched me, and drifted back to the sea.
Following the Pamban bridge, the train passed through an area that resembled a desert, with sand dunes all around. The sidings at Pamban station were completely engulfed in sand. After Pamlban, the train picked up speed. The road continues to run parallel to the tracks. We arrived at Rameswaram station at 19.30 — about an hour late.
Finally, we arrived at Rameshvaram’s railway plate form. Before leaving, we planned to have some hot coffee and some snakes. There were a lot of cars available outside the station. Agnee teertham rented a car for a pre-booked hotel stay (Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation Hotel).
This travelogue concludes with Pamban Bridge: A Hair-Raising Train Ride to Rameswaram.
Following that, we’ll meet in Rameswaram and the ghost town of Dhanushkodi Beach.