New Delhi - Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened one of India's most ambitious railway projects ever, which will connect the Kashmir valley to India's vast plains by train for the first time.
The government-run Indian Railway is known as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, and the 272-km (169 miles) route starts in Udhampur, the garrison city of the Chamu region and runs through Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir, which is controlled by India. The line ends in Baramulla, a small town with a high line of military control that separates the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.
The line passes through 36 tunnels and more than 943 bridges. The Indian government set the total cost of the project at about $5 billion.
One of the highlights of the project is the 1,315-meter (4,314-foot) steel and concrete bridge above the Chenab River, connecting the two mountains to 359-meter (1,177-foot) surface. The Indian Railway compared the height to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which is 330 meters (1,082 feet), and said the bridge was built for 120 years and continued extreme weather, including wind speeds up to 260 kph (161 mph).
Modi visited the Chenab Bridge with close guarantees, waved the Indian tricolor flag, and then boarded a test train passing picturesque mountains and tunnels to the inauguration of a high-altitude bridge called Anji.
The Prime Minister also helped launch a pair of new trains called "Vande Bharat", which would cut the travel time between Srinagar and Jammu's Katra town from the usual six to seven hours, about three hours.
Modi traveled to India-controlled Kashmir for the first time on Friday since the military clash between India and Pakistan, bringing rivals to the brink of a third war in the region last month when the countries opened fire and drones.
The conflict began with a shooting massacre in late April, which sent 26 people, mainly Indian-controlled Indian tourists, in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of supporting the attackers, an allegation denied by Islamabad.
Modi slammed Pakistan at a public rally in Katra and called Islamabad a massacre. He said the attack was primarily aimed at Kashmir's booming tourism industry and aimed at exacerbating community violence.
"I assure you that I will not let development activities stop in Kashmir," Modi said, adding that local industries and businesses will be enhanced from the new railway connections.
Railway projects are considered crucial to promote tourism and bring development to areas that have been damaged by armed forces and protests for many years. The route is expected to alleviate movements from the Indian army and the public towards the disputed area, which is currently connected to mountain roads by landslide-prone flights.
India and Pakistan each manage part of Kashmir, but both claim the entire territory. Since 1989, militants in the Indian control of Kashmir have been fighting the rule of New Delhi. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory under Pakistani rule or independent states.
India insists that Kashmir forces are Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, which Islamabad denies. During the conflict, thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces were killed.