Red alert from sensors on Pamban railway bridge stops train services in Tamil Nadu

MADURAI: Madurai railway division has suspended rail traffic between Mandapam and Rameswaram for three days after the sensors fixed on Pamban railway bridge by IIT– Madras started sending red alert signals from Friday morning. An IIT-M team and principal chief engineer of Southern Railway Desh Ratan Gupta will visit the bridge on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
Railways has installed anemometers on the more-than-100-year-old bridge for safety. When wind speed exceeds 58kmph, the signals will turn red thus stopping train movement. To augment safety, IIT-M installed Continuous Health Monitoring system with sensors installed at Scherzer span to measure the vibrations on the bridge. When the vibrations exceed a threshold limit, the red alert signals are sent from the system.
Around 2.31 a.m. the CHM system threw up a red alert message. It was suspected that the signals were due to inclement weather but railway officials ruled out the weather factor by Friday afternoon. IIT-M was informed about the situation. On Friday morning, trains bound to Rameswaram were short-terminated at Mandapam while Madurai – Rameswaram Unreserved specials trains originating from Rameswaram were fully cancelled for the day. It has been decided to operate Rameswaram-bound trains from Mandapam station.
A Southern Railway statement said IIT-M will undertake a detailed inspection of the system generating red alert. Upon rectifying the defects, five to six trial runs with empty rakes will be done. Once the readings are normal and within threshold limits, traffic on the bridge will be restored.
According to a statement from Madurai division, Train No 06656 Madurai Express departing Rameswaram at 6 p.m. on Friday has been fully cancelled. Rameswaram – Tirupathi Express leaving Rameswaram at 4.20 pm on Friday, Rameswaram – Chennai Express trains leaving Rameswaram at 5.20 pm and 8.20 pm and Rameswaram – Okha leaving Rameswaram at 10.30 pm on Friday are being operated from Mandapam. A help desk has been opened for assisting passengers at Rameswaram with mobile number 93605 48465, and at Mandapam with helpline no 93605 44307