Officials say the train will help the troubled region, but many Kashmiris see it as a tool to entrench the Indian government’s control.

The world’s highest railway bridge, an ambitious piece of engineering across a mountain valley in Kashmir, was opened Friday by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, just weeks after a deadly tourist massacre in the Himalayan region sparked a brief conflict with neighboring Pakistan.

The inauguration marks a watershed moment for the Kashmir Valley, providing all-weather connectivity that has eluded the region for decades