1. Between which places in western India did the first commercial train run on this date and what was the distance covered?
2. How did Sindh, Sultan and Sahib achieve fame on the above run?
3. To celebrate whose birth centenary was the Shatabdi Express, the fast inter-city express train, introduced in 1989?
4. The station with the code VKZ, on the Renigunta-Arakkonam section of Southern Railway, has the longest single name among all stations on the Indian Railway system. What is it called?
5. What do the common abbreviations PNR, RAC and TTE stand for?
6. At which junction are platform nos. 1 and 3, and 2 and 4 contiguous making it the longest railway platform in the world with a length of more than 1,070 metres?
7. If one wants to know the PNR status through SMS, then to which number should the request be sent?
8. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the Indian Railways. One is the famous Mountain Railways of India. Name the other.
9. After which eminent personality is the train between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, which has the longest run in terms of distance (4,286 km) and time (82 hours and 30 minutes), named?
10. What is special about the Thar Express and Samjhauta Express?
11. Name the three Indian cities that have functional Metro Rail services.
12. Name the current Union Minister of Railways.
13. What is special about the twin coaches (numbered 9000 and 9001), built in 1956 and usually berthed at New Delhi station?
14. For what activity are Perambur, Kapurthala and Rae Bareli important to the Indian Railways?
15. If it is Palace on Wheels for Rajasthan, then what is it for Karnataka and Maharashtra (and Goa)?
Answers : 1. Bori Bunder to Thane for a distance of about 34 kms; 2. They were the three locomotives that hauled the 14 railway carriages carrying 400 guests on the inaugural run; 3. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru; 4. Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta; 5. Passenger Numeric Record (or Passenger Name Record), Reservation Against Cancellation and Travelling Ticket Examiner; 6. Kharagpur in West Bengal; 7. 139; 8. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai; 9. Swami Vivekananda. The train is called Vivek Express; 10. They run between stations in India and neighbouring Pakistan; 11. Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore; 12. Pawan Kumar Bansal; 13. Called the ‘Presidential Saloon’, it is reserved for exclusive use by the President of India; 14. They have production units to make Passenger coaches; 15. ‘Golden Chariot’ and ‘Deccan Odyssey’.
