THE world’s highest railway bridge has opened – built with 30,000 tonnes of steel and towering 359 metres above the river bed.

The Chenab Bridge – standing taller than the Eiffel Tower – has been hailed as the “crown jewel” of India.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the £200 million bridge in his first visit to Kashmir since the escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict in April.

The bridge’s inauguration comes a month after a shooting in the resort town of Pahalgam, Indian-controlled Kashmir, where 26 people were killed.

Waving the national flag over the bridge, Modi said: “Pakistan will never forget… its shameful loss.”

He added: “Today’s event is a grand festival of India’s unity and firm resolve.”

The mammoth project was dubbed by Indian Railways as one of the most challenging tracks in the world.

Stretching nearly a mile long, the railway bridge has been built to withstand 165mph winds and high-intensity earthquakes.

The idea for the railway was first floated in 1892 by the then ruling Maharaja Hari Singh, who brought in British engineers to survey the rugged terrain.

But given its complexity, the plan was ultimately shelved.

The 169-mile railway line starts in the town of Udhampur in Jammu and winds its way through Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

It ends in Baramulla, near the heavily militarised Line of Control that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.

The bridge is the focal point of the £3.7bn Udhampur-Katra-Baramulla project – set to connect Jammu and Kashmir with 36 tunnels and 943 bridges.

It is expected to slice in half the time taken to travel from Katra, a town in Kashmir’s Jammu region to Srinagar, Kashmir’s main city.

Around 16 million people live in Kashmir, split between the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled areas.

When India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947, Indian troops took control of two-thirds of Kashmir, while Pakistan seized the northern third.

Since then, the dispute between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has evolved into one of the world’s most intense geopolitical rivalries.

India accused Pakistan of backing the recent Pahalgam massacre – a claim Islamabad firmly denies.

US President Donald Trump said: “The United States stands strong with India against terrorism.

“We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured.

“Prime Minister Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies.”

In response to the terror attack, India launched “Operation Sindoor”, striking nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan officials said the “unprovoked” strikes killed at least 31 people, including several children, as well as injuring 46 others.

The fraught period also saw India and Pakistan cancelling visas for each other’s citizens.