In a bold statement of engineering ambition and national integration, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated two record-breaking railway bridges in Jammu and Kashmir projects aimed at stitching the Himalayan region more tightly into India’s vast railway network.

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

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated one of the most ambitious and strategic railway projects the nation has ever built.