24.3. The Indian railway network runs on multiple gauge operations, i.e.
and
(a) wide gauge, metro gauge, narrow gauge
(b) broad gauge, narrow gauge, medium gauge
(c) broad gauge, narrow gauge, small gauge (d) broad gauge, metro gauge, narrow gauge
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
What is Rail Gauge?
The gauge of the railway track is a clear minimum vertical distance between the inner sides of two tracks is called railway gauge. That is, the distance between the two tracks on any railway route is known as railway gauge. Approximately sixty percent of the world's railway uses standard gauge of 1,435 mm. There are 4 types of railway gauge used in India. Broad gauge, Metre Gauge, Narrow gauge and Standard gauge (for Delhi Metro). Let's study them.
Broad Gauge
Broad gauge is also called wide gauge or large line. The distance between the two tracks in these railway gauges is 1676 mm (5 ft 6 in). It would not be wrong to say that any gauge, wider than standard gauge or 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ inches), is called broad gauge. The first railway line built in India was a broad gauge line from Bore Bunder (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) to Thane in 1853. Broad gauge railway is also used on ports for crane etc. This gives better stability and they are even better than thinner gauges.
Standard Gauge
The distance between the two tracks in this railway gauge is 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in). In India, standard gauge is used only for urban rail transit systems like Metro, Monorail and Tram. Till 2010, the only standard gauge line in India was the Kolkata (Calcutta) tram system. All metro lines coming in urban areas will be made only in the standard gauge because it is easy to get rolling stock for the standard gauge as compared to the Indian gauge. By 2016, the lines that are in operation are Delhi Metro, Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon, Bangalore Metro and Mumbai Metro. All these are operated separately from Indian Railways.
Metre Gauge
The distance between the two tracks is 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3/8 in). The metre gauge lines were made to reduce the cost. All meter gauge lines except the Nilgiri Mountain Railway which is a legacy run on a meter gauge in India will be converted into broad gauge under project Unigauge.
Narrow Gauge
The small gauge is called a Narrow gauge or a small line. The narrow-gauge railway is the railway track, in which distance between two tracks is 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm). In 2015, there was a 1,500 km narrow gauge rail route, which is considered to be about 2% of the total Indian rail network. As the country is developing, small line services are expected to be completed by 2018. Now the small lines are being converted into big lines. Trains with small bogies now will no longer be able to see much. The Darjeeling Mountain Railway has declared UNESCO World Heritage on 24 July, 2008. Kalka Shimla Railway is also very popular.