Pamban Bridge, Railway bridge in Tamil Nadu, India

The Pamban Bridge is a 2,065 m railway bridge over the Palk Strait between Mandapam on the Indian mainland and Rameswaram on Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu. It rests on 143 concrete piers and has a double-leaf bascule section with a Scherzer rolling lift span midway. Its deck stands 12.5 m above sea level.

The structure was built between 1911 and 1914 as the first railway connection over the sea in India. This construction represented a major engineering advance at the time and transformed access to the island.

The railway link provides direct access for pilgrims traveling to Rameswaram, a sacred site revered in Hinduism as one of the holiest destinations. Many travelers rely on the train route to reach the island temples and participate in religious ceremonies.

Rail traffic on this bridge stopped permanently in December 2022, when corrosion weakened the bascule span; trains to Rameswaram now use the New Pamban Bridge opened in April 2025. The old structure can be viewed from the parallel Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge, opened in 1988. Dismantling of the old bridge began in January 2026, starting with the central span.

The movable middle section uses a double-leaf system designed by German engineer Scherzer. This mechanism lifts the span vertically to allow larger vessels to pass through.