IODChanel59686 at 04:30, 30 December 2025

2025-12-30T04:30:46Z

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{{Short description|Bridge in Kerala, India}}
{{for|the Bridge with same name in Canada|Cochin Bridge (Saskatchewan)}}
{{distinguish|Cochin Harbour Bridge}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2023}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Cochin Bridge
|image = പഴയ‌-കൊച്ചിപ്പാലവും‌-പുതിയ-കൊച്ചിപ്പാലവും.JPG
|caption = Old Cochin Bridge and new Cochin Bridge in 2007
|official_name = Kochi Bridge
|carries = Rail (former) <br /> Road
|crosses = [[Bharathappuzha]]
|locale = [[Shoranur]], [[Palakkad district]], [[Kerala]]
|maint = Archeology Department, Kerala
|id =
|designer = British Government
|design = Indo- British
|material = Steel & Rail
|spans = 15
|pierswater =
|mainspan = 14
|length = 32 m(Previously 322 Meter)
|width = 180 Meter
|height =85 Cm
|load = 5000 Kg
|clearance = Yes
|below = -
|traffic = Traffic only on Road Bridge
|begin = 1901
|complete = 1902
|open = 2 June 1902
|closed = 1989
|collapsed = 2009 ( First time), 2011( Second time), 2021( Third time), 2024( Last time)
|website =
|toll = No
|map_cue =
|map_image =
|map_text =
|map_width =
|coordinates =
}}

The '''Cochin Bridge''' is a collapsed historical bridge located in [[Palakkad district]], [[Kerala]], India. It was originally constructed as a rail bridge, that lies across the [[Bharathappuzha|Bharathapuzha river]], connecting [[Shoranur]] in Palakkad district with [[Cheruthuruthi|Cheruthuruthy]] in [[Thrissur district]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-09-20 |title=A bridge to Kochi's past lies in ruins |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/a-bridge-to-kochis-past-lies-in-ruins/article5147089.ece |access-date=2023-10-02 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The bridge's construction was completed in 1902 at the cost of 84 lakh rupees by [[Rama Varma XV|Shri Rama Varma Thampuran]], the [[Kingdom of Cochin|Maharaja of Kochi]], who reigned from the year 1895 till 1914.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1964-11-13 |title=Rama Varma Thampuran, Last Maharaja of Cochin |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/13/archives/rama-varma-thampuran-last-maharaja-of-cochin.html |access-date=2023-10-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This was the only bridge built in that time to make [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]] navigable to the [[Kingdom of Cochin|Kingdom of Kochi]]. The first freight train passed over the bridge on 2 June 1902 and a few days later on the 16 June, the first passenger train made the journey from [[Shoranur]] to [[Kochi]] through the bridge. Due to damage, it was closed in 1989, and a new bridge was built parallel to it. As of October 2023, the bridge is in a collapsed condition and the authorities are planning to completely dismantle it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-29 |title=The Cochin Bridge, Cheruthuruthy - Shornur |url=http://cochinbridge.com/Cochin%20Bridge.html |access-date=2023-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129011820/http://cochinbridge.com/Cochin%20Bridge.html |archive-date=29 November 2014 }}</ref>

==History==
[[Rama Varma XV|Rama Varma Thampuran]], who ruled the [[Kingdom of Cochin]] from 1895 to 1914, constructed the bridge. The railway line that came up to [[Shoranur]] was intended to be extended all the way to [[Kochi|Cochin]] by the King, who was praised as a progressive leader. Two arterial train routes intersected in Shoranur, making it a significant location on the rail map. The Ernakulam-Shoranur railway line was constructed on the King's initiative, and the first train ran on it in June 1902.<ref name=":0" /> According to railway historian ''Devan Varma'', to fund the railway project, the King sold some of the royal family's prized possessions, including the elephant's [[Nettipattom|nettipattam]] (caparisons).<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2019-09-16 |title=117-year-old Cochin bridge lies in ruins |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/117-year-old-cochin-bridge-lies-in-ruins/articleshow/71143223.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-10-02 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

[[Bullock cart]]s were allowed to traverse the bridge in its early days even though it was initially a narrow gauge rail bridge. It was converted to a broad gauge bridge in 1935. When the British built a brand-new rail bridge next to it, the old one was converted to a road bridge in 1945. The [[Government of Kerala|Kerala government]] built a new Cochin Bridge in 2003 to replace the old one. In 2009, a pillar of the bridge collapsed and in November 2011, the eighth and ninth spans of the bridge collapsed when the ninth pillar gave in.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naha |first=Abdul Latheef |date=2022-09-19 |title=Historic Cochin Bridge loses one more span |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/historic-cochin-bridge-loses-one-more-span/article65911149.ece |access-date=2023-10-02 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of bridges in India]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bridges in Kerala]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1902]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in India]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in India]]

Cochin Bridge Palakkad India - Revision history

IODChanel59686 at 04:30, 30 December 2025