UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Cabinet clears 8 railway multi-tracking projects
Q1. As per the last reconstitution of Cabinet Committees at the Union level, how many standing Cabinet Committees function, including the one that clears railway investment proposals?
- A. Four, namely those dealing with security, economic affairs, political affairs and appointments
- B. Six, the two committees on investment/growth and skill development having since been wound up
- C. Eight, including committees on investment and growth and on employment and skill development
- D. Ten, including separate committees for infrastructure clearance and for parliamentary affairs
Q2. Which one of the following Cabinet Committees has the smallest and most tightly defined membership, being confined to the Prime Minister together with the Ministers holding the Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs portfolios?
- A. The Cabinet Committee on Security, which also takes up defence acquisition proposals
- B. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which clears major infrastructure investment proposals
- C. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which handles Centre-State policy questions
- D. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which decides senior civil service postings
Q3. The eight railway multi-tracking projects costing about ₹20,804 crore cleared in September 2026 were sanctioned by which authority, and with what target for completion?
- A. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs; to be completed by 2029-30
- B. Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth; to be completed by 2029-30
- C. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs; to be completed by 2027-28
- D. Public Investment Board of the Ministry of Finance; to be completed by 2031-32
Q4. The eight railway multi-tracking projects approved in September 2026 span how many districts in all?
Q5. Across the September 2026 multi-tracking tranche, the highest order of tracking sanctioned on any single section corresponds to which one of the following works?
- A. Doubling of an existing single line into a two-line section
- B. Laying of a third line alongside an existing double-line section
- C. Laying of a fourth line alongside an existing three-line section
- D. Laying of fifth and sixth lines alongside an existing four-line section
Q6. In Indian Railways usage, a project described as 'multi-tracking' of an existing section involves which one of the following?
- A. Laying additional running lines along the existing alignment so that the section's line capacity rises
- B. Converting the existing metre-gauge or narrow-gauge running line on the section to broad gauge
- C. Building a freight-only route on a fresh alignment parallel to the existing saturated trunk route
- D. Replacing manual absolute block working on the section with automatic block signalling and control
Q7. Consider the following works, said to belong to the East/Central cluster of the September 2026 railway multi-tracking approvals:
1. Fourth line between Kharagpur and Jharsuguda (Bagdehi)
2. Fourth line between Katni and Pendra Road
3. Doubling of the Bilaspur (Uslapur)–Pendra Road section
4. Multi-tracking of the Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)–Kazipet section
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Fourth line between Kharagpur and Jharsuguda (Bagdehi)
- Fourth line between Katni and Pendra Road
- Doubling of the Bilaspur (Uslapur)–Pendra Road section
- Multi-tracking of the Secunderabad (Ghatkesar)–Kazipet section
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 2 and 4 only
Q8. Which one of the following correctly describes a Dedicated Freight Corridor as built by DFCCIL?
- A. A freight route laid on its own alignment, separating goods traffic from the existing mixed-traffic network
- B. An existing trunk route from which all passenger services have been permanently withdrawn to free the entire capacity
- C. A corridor reserved exclusively for coal rakes bound for power stations, barred to every other class of commodity
- D. Any multi-tracked section whose third and fourth lines are permanently closed to all traffic other than through freight
Q9. Consider the following statements about entities associated with railway project execution:
1. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise of the Ministry of Railways that has been granted Navratna status.
2. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is the entity constructing the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors.
3. IRCON International Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
4. RITES Limited, the transport infrastructure consultancy arm under the Ministry of Railways, holds Navratna status.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise of the Ministry of Railways that has been granted Navratna status.
- The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is the entity constructing the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors.
- IRCON International Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- RITES Limited, the transport infrastructure consultancy arm under the Ministry of Railways, holds Navratna status.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1 and 2 only
Q10. Which one of the following best describes the mandate of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited?
- A. Executing rail capacity-augmentation works, including through project-specific SPVs, and handing the completed asset to the zonal railway for operation and maintenance
- B. Operating and maintaining freight services on the commissioned Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors on behalf of the concerned zonal railways
- C. Providing transport engineering and consultancy services and undertaking export of rolling stock as the railways' designated consultancy organisation
- D. Prescribing safety standards and inspecting new railway lines before they are opened to passenger traffic on the zonal railways
Q11. The CCEA clearance of three multi-tracking projects worth about ₹23,437 crore — Nagda–Mathura, Guntakal–Wadi and Burhwal–Sitapur — covering 19 districts across six states, was accorded in which month?
- A. February 2026
- B. May 2026
- C. August 2026
- D. September 2026
Q12. Consider the following, stated as objectives or targets under the National Rail Plan 2030 and its Vision 2024 component:
1. Raising the modal share of railways in freight traffic from about 27% to 45%
2. Increasing the average speed of freight trains to 50 kmph
3. Speed upgradation to 160 kmph on the Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Mumbai routes
4. Creating capacity ahead of demand so as to cater to growth in traffic demand right up to 2030
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Raising the modal share of railways in freight traffic from about 27% to 45%
- Increasing the average speed of freight trains to 50 kmph
- Speed upgradation to 160 kmph on the Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Mumbai routes
- Creating capacity ahead of demand so as to cater to growth in traffic demand right up to 2030
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4