India has inaugurated a major infrastructure milestone in Indian-administered Kashmir-- a 270-kilometer railway line hailed as one of its most ambitious engineering achievements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the launch of the project.

New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a 270-kilometre railway line in Indian-administered Kashmir, which includes the world's highest railway bridge standing 359 meters above the Chenab River. The bridge, built to withstand natural disasters and bomb blasts, marks the culmination of decades of planning and connects the Kashmir valley to India's broader rail network.

The new rail line links Srinagar to Katra, facilitating easier travel to New Delhi and other northern cities, and is expected to halve travel times between key destinations. The project is anticipated to boost tourism and agriculture in the region, and may eventually include freight services. The railway extends close to the line of control with Pakistan, in a region noted for its strategic and military significance.

Modi inaugurates world’s highest rail bridge in Kashmir

30 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, the world's highest railway bridge rises 359 meters above the Chenab River and is built to be impervious to natural disasters and bomb blasts. It is the culmination of decades of planning. The Kashmir valley has been connected to India's rail network. While describing mother India, we have been saying the phrase Kashmir to Kanyakumari for a long time. This has now become a reality for the railway network as well. The newly unveiled rail line links Indian-administered Kashmir's provincial capital of Srinagar to the city of Katra, where travellers undergo security checks before trains continue on to the capital New Delhi and other cities in northern India. The dream of linking India's southernmost tip with its northernmost territory is reported to date back more than a century. For millions of domestic and international tourists, the region's only land connection used to be a single road. Anush's journey from Srinagar would usually have taken up to seven hours by car. But the rail line will halve that. It is a historic day. No one imagined that there would be railway connectivity in this region. Anyone can now travel to Srinagar. In the past, the only means for travel were aircraft, bus and taxi. It's going to boost tourism. The region's vast agricultural industries could also benefit in the future, with reports that freight trains may be added to the commuter network. The railway runs up to the city of Baramulla, near the line of control dividing Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The region has seen increased tensions since New Delhi revoked the disputed Himalayan territory's semi-autonomous status in 2019. It's been about a month since the guns fell silent over the Kashmir valley, after four days of fighting between India and Pakistan. There are two neighbours India has with whom India doesn't have ideally good relationship. So there is a mobilisation of army very often happening. So that would require that there is easy movement of troops and ammunition. Many people view the project as an engineering masterpiece, albeit in one of the most highly militarised regions of the world. Mike Lapple, Al Jazeera.

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