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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chairperson of India's ruling coalition (United Progressive Alliance - UPA) Sonia Gandhi Wednesday flagged off train on a newly constructed railway stretch in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.
The newly constructed 18 km stretch includes a 11.21 km long tunnel drilled through mighty Pir Panchal mountains which connects Qazigund town with Banihal.
"Often described as the engineering marvel, the 11.21 kilometer long Qazigund-Banihal tunnel is Asia's second and India's longest tunnel, piercing through Pir Panchal range," said a local government spokesman.
The addition of new 18 km extension has stretched the railway line to 137 km from Baramulla in northwest to Banihal in south of Srinagar city.
From Banihal, the railway line will be connected to India's huge railway network, which according to officials is likely to be linked in 2017.
Once completed, the link will ease travel between twin capital cities (Srinagar and Jammu) of Indian-controlled Kashmir and beyond. It will also provide an all-weather road link to the region which usually gets hampered due to bad weather.
For the Wednesday's high-profile flag-off ceremony an eight- coach train carrying schoolchildren and railway officials was flagged off from the railway station at Banihal decorated with flowers and garlands.
The train covered the stretch to Qazigund in 25 minutes.
Train service Indian-controlled Kashmir was started in 2008.
Authorities in the region had made adequate security arrangements to ward off any militant attack around this high- profile visit.
Suspected militants shot dead a pro-India political worker Wednesday morning in Sopre town, around 55 km northwest of Srinagar. On Monday militants ambushed an Indian army convoy killing eight troopers and wounding several others.
On Tuesday the Indian PM and UPA chairperson laid the foundation of a power project at Darab-Shala in Kishtwar.
Muslim majority areas of the region Tuesday observed a strike in response to shutdown call given by separatist groups to protest Singh's visit.
The hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani said the announcement of packages, inauguration of railway lines and power projects could not heal the wounds of people of Kashmir.
"Kashmir was neither an economic problem nor was it an issue related to good or bad governance," reads a statement issued by Geelani on Indian PM's visit. "Kashmir issue is a historical reality and VIP visits to Kashmir or construction activities cannot resolve it."
India and Pakistani troops exchanged fire for two consecutive days on LoC dividing Kashmir during Singh's two-day visit to the restive region.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
A guerrilla war is going on between militants and stationed Indian troops in the region since 1989.
