UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Indian Railways Triples Safety Expenditure Over a Decade from ₹39,200 Crore in 2013-14 to ₹1,17,693 Crore in 2025-26 Prioritising Passenger Safety Amid Modernisation

Q1. Within the ₹20,000 crore assured annual outlay of the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh at its creation, which one of the following constituted the single largest source of funds?

  • A. Gross Budgetary Support
  • B. Internal resources of the Railways
  • C. Extra Budgetary Resources (market borrowings)
  • D. Depreciation Reserve Fund

Q2. Kavach, India's indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system, is engineered to meet which one of the following as the highest order of Safety Integrity Level (SIL) certification?

  • A. SIL-1
  • B. SIL-2
  • C. SIL-3
  • D. SIL-4

Q3. With reference to Kavach Version 4.0 as compared with earlier versions of the system, consider the following statements: 1. Unlike earlier versions, Version 4.0 has been cleared for train operations at speeds up to 160 kmph. 2. Version 4.0 introduced a direct interface with the existing Electronic Interlocking system. 3. Version 4.0 was the version in which Kavach was first adopted as India's National ATP system. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Unlike earlier versions, Version 4.0 has been cleared for train operations at speeds up to 160 kmph.
  2. Version 4.0 introduced a direct interface with the existing Electronic Interlocking system.
  3. Version 4.0 was the version in which Kavach was first adopted as India's National ATP system.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. The Kakodkar Committee (2012) recommended adoption of an advanced signalling system, akin to the European Train Control System, across the entire trunk route length of approximately how many kilometres within five years?

  • A. 9,000 km
  • B. 14,000 km
  • C. 19,000 km
  • D. 23,000 km

Q5. In the recommendations of the Bibek Debroy Committee (2015), the proposed 'Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI)' was envisaged as which one of the following?

  • A. An independent regulator separating policy-making and regulation from the operations of the Railways
  • B. A statutory authority to conduct independent inquiries into serious railway accidents
  • C. A non-lapsable fund for financing renewal of critical safety assets
  • D. A body to certify the Safety Integrity Level of railway signalling equipment

Q6. The Commission of Railway Safety, the independent inquiry authority for rail safety, functions under the administrative control of which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Railways
  • B. Ministry of Civil Aviation
  • C. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Q7. The Commission of Railway Safety derives its statutory mandate — including certifying that a new line is fit and safe before it is opened for public carriage of passengers — from which one of the following enactments?

  • A. The Railways Act, 1989
  • B. The Indian Railways Act, 1890
  • C. The Railways Act, 2005
  • D. The Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002

Q8. As per the Ministry of Railways (February 2026), Indian Railways' safety expenditure reached its highest recorded level of ₹1,17,693 crore in which financial year?

  • A. 2022-23
  • B. 2023-24
  • C. 2024-25
  • D. 2025-26

Q9. Prior to the creation of the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh in 2017-18, renewal and replacement of the Railways' critical safety assets was financed primarily from which one of the following?

  • A. Depreciation Reserve Fund
  • B. Development Fund
  • C. Pension Fund
  • D. Railway Reserve Bank Fund

Q10. Consider the following statements regarding recent high-profile rail accidents that intensified scrutiny of the Kavach rollout: 1. The 2023 Balasore accident involved the Coromandel Express and occurred on a route not equipped with Kavach. 2. The 2024 Kanchanjunga Express accident occurred when a goods train collided with it near Rangapani in West Bengal. 3. The Commission of Railway Safety inquiry into the Kanchanjunga Express accident recommended implementation of Kavach on top priority. 4. Both the Balasore and Kanchanjunga Express accident-affected sections were already fully covered by the Kavach system at the time of the accidents. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The 2023 Balasore accident involved the Coromandel Express and occurred on a route not equipped with Kavach.
  2. The 2024 Kanchanjunga Express accident occurred when a goods train collided with it near Rangapani in West Bengal.
  3. The Commission of Railway Safety inquiry into the Kanchanjunga Express accident recommended implementation of Kavach on top priority.
  4. Both the Balasore and Kanchanjunga Express accident-affected sections were already fully covered by the Kavach system at the time of the accidents.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q11. The programme to equip coaches and locomotives of Indian Railways with CCTV cameras — under which, as of February 2026, about 12,300 coaches and 460 locomotives have been fitted — is being implemented by which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)
  • B. Railway Protection Force acting under the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. Commission of Railway Safety
  • D. Bureau of Police Research and Development