A barge towing a naval ship smashed one of the historic Pamban Rail Bridge's piers on Sunday, throwing train service out of gear.

Pamban Rail Bridge is a century-old bridge over sea in Palk straits that connects the mainland with Rameshwaram pilgrim-island. It is India's first cantilever bridge over sea in Palk straits.

The civil barge was reportedly towed by another vessel. The barge with the naval ship was proceeding from Kolkata to Karwar, where the barge was to be given up to the Indian Navy. On Friday, it was anchored north of the Pamban Rail Bridge as it had been waiting for the Railways approval.

Strong winds forced operators to ground it on Saturday. It later started drifting towards the cantilever bridge and eventually rammed into the historic structure in early hours of Sunday.

Railways' Madurai Divisional Manager A. K. Rastogi rushed to the spot with a group of engineers. Confirming the collision, he said, "A pier of the rail bridge has been dislocated and broken."

When not used for train services, Pamban cantilever bridge's two arms lift up to permit passage of ships beneath it. It allows ships to move back and forth from India's eastern coast to the western coast. Thus it connects the Gulf of Mannar with Palk Bay.

Considered an engineering wonder, the 2.01-kilometer long Pamban Rail link had become operational in the year of 1914 under the British rule.