This set of Railway Engineering Multiple Choice Questions on “Gauges on World Railways”.
1. Out of the following countries, which country has adopted the standard gauge?
a) England
b) India
c) Australia
d) Pakistan
Answer: a
Clarification: Most of the European countries have adopted the standard gauge. England was the first country to adopt this gauge. It was previously known as Stephenson gauge. The size of the standard gauge is 1435mm.
2. The unit of rail gauge is expressed in terms of ______
a) Time
b) Length
c) Velocity
d) No unit
Answer: b
Clarification: Gauge can be defined as the distance between inner sides of the rails. Therefore, it has a unit of length and generally expressed in mm.
3. Which type of gauge is widely used across the world?
a) Metre gauge
b) Broad gauge
c) Standard gauge
d) Cape gauge
Answer: c
Clarification: Standard gauge line covers the most distance across the world. It covers approximately 60% of the total rail length in the world. Most of the high speed lines adopt this gauge size.
4. The size of cape gauge is _______
a) 1000 mm
b) 1067 mm
c) 1435 mm
d) 1676 mm
Answer: b
Clarification: Cape gauge which is widely used in Japan, Australia and New Zealand has a size of 1067 mm. The sizes of metre gauge, standard gauge and broad gauge are 1000 mm, 1435 mm and 1676 mm respectively.
5. The narrow gauge is more useful in _____
a) Mountainous and hilly regions
b) Plain areas
c) Desert region
d) Not useful
Answer: a
Clarification: The narrow gauge is superior to broad gauge in hilly regions as the cost of construction is reduced significantly. Also, narrow gauge allows small radius curves to be constructed easily.
6. What is the effect of increasing the gauge distance?
a) Increases the stability of the train
b) Decreases the stability of the train
c) Decreases the cost of construction
d) Decreases the speed of the train
Answer: a
Clarification: A broader gauge increases the speed and stability of the train. The cost of construction is also increased.