Study Material — 8 PYQs (2018–2020) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
SBI SO Trains is a frequently tested subtopic — 8 previous year questions from 2018–2020 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
A train travels a distance of 360 km in 4 hours. What is the speed of the train in metres per second?
Exam Q 32019Previous Year Pattern
Train A of length 150 m crosses a stationary platform in 15 seconds. What is the speed of Train A in km/h?
Exam Q 42020Previous Year Pattern
Train A and Train B start simultaneously from stations P and Q respectively, which are 480 km apart. Train A travels towards Q at 60 km/h, while Train B travels towards P at 40 km/h. After how many hours will the two trains meet, and at what distance from station P will they meet?
Exam Q 52018Previous Year Pattern
Train A and Train B start simultaneously from opposite ends of a 360 km track. Train A travels at 80 km/h and Train B travels at 100 km/h. After how many hours will they meet each other?
Exam Q 62019Previous Year Pattern
Two trains, A and B, start simultaneously from stations X and Y respectively, which are 480 km apart. Train A travels towards Y at 60 km/h, while train B travels towards X at 40 km/h. After how many hours will they meet, and at what distance from station X?
Exam Q 72019Previous Year Pattern
Two trains, A and B, start simultaneously from stations X and Y respectively, which are 480 km apart. Train A travels towards Y at 60 km/h, while train B travels towards X at 40 km/h. After they meet, train A takes 6 hours to reach Y, while train B takes 10 hours to reach X. If both trains had started 2 hours later, by what time (in hours after the original start time) would they meet?
Exam Q 82018Previous Year Pattern
Two trains A and B start simultaneously from stations P and Q respectively towards each other. The distance between P and Q is 560 km. Train A travels at 80 km/h and Train B travels at 60 km/h. After how many hours will they meet, and how far from station P will the meeting point be?
Concept Notes
Trains— Rules & Concept
💡
Core Concept
Read this first — the foundation of the topic
→Core Concept
Train problems involve calculating time taken by trains to cross objects like poles, platforms, bridges, or other trains. The key is understanding that trains have length, unlike point objects
💡Key Rules
When a train crosses a stationary object like a pole, it travels a distance equal to its own length. When crossing a platform or bridge, it travels its own length plus the length of the platform/bridge. For two trains, use relative speed concept
🔑Essential Formulas
Time = Distance/Speed
Speed = Distance/Time
Relative Speed (same direction) = |S1 - S2|
Relative Speed (opposite direction) = S1 + S2
Speed conversion: km/hr to m/s multiply by 5/18, m/s to km/hr multiply by 18/5
📊
Exam Patterns
What examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
💡Remember
72 km/hr = 20 m/s (this conversion appears frequently)
✏️Worked Example 1
1
Distance covered = Length of train = 120m
2
Time taken = 8 seconds
3
Speed = Distance/Time = 120/8 = 15 m/s
4
Convert to km/hr = 15 × 18/5 = 54 km/hr
Answer: 54 km/hr
Worked Example 2: Two trains of lengths 100m and 150m are running in opposite directions at speeds 40 km/hr and 50 km/hr respectively. In how much time will they cross each other?
Relative speed = 100/9 + 125/9 = 225/9 = 25 m/s (opposite direction, so add)
3
Total distance = 100 + 150 = 250m
4
Time = Distance/Speed = 250/25 = 10 seconds
Answer: 10 seconds
Advanced Shortcut - Platform Formula: Time to cross platform = (Train length + Platform length)/Speed. This direct formula saves calculation steps in exams
→Most Common Trap
Students forget to add platform/bridge length when train crosses them. They only consider train length, leading to wrong answers. Always read whether the train crosses a pole (only train length) or platform/bridge (train length + platform/bridge length).
Another frequent mistake is wrong unit conversion. Practice the 5/18 conversion thoroughly.
Many students confuse when to multiply or divide
⚡Speed-Distance-Time Shortcut
If train crosses pole in time T1 and platform in time T2, then platform length = speed × (T2 - T1). This eliminates the need to calculate train length first.
Two trains are moving towards each other on parallel tracks. Train X travels at 60 km/h and Train Y travels at 40 km/h. If they are 500 km apart, in how many hours will they meet?
Practice 2easy
Train A and Train B start from the same station at the same time. Train A travels at 72 km/h and Train B travels at 54 km/h in the same direction. After how much time will Train A be 9 km ahead of Train B?
Practice 3easy
A train of length 180 m passes a stationary pole in 9 seconds. How long will it take to pass another train of length 120 m moving in the same direction at 10 m/s?
Practice 4easy
Train A is 150 m long and travels at 45 km/h. How long will it take to completely cross a platform that is 250 m long?
Practice 5easy
Two trains are moving towards each other on parallel tracks. Train X has a speed of 60 km/h and Train Y has a speed of 40 km/h. If they are 500 km apart, in how many hours will they meet?
Practice 6easy
A train 180 metres long is running at 45 km/h. How long will it take to pass a platform that is 270 metres long?
Practice 7easy
A train is 300 metres long and is running at a speed of 90 km/h. How much time (in seconds) will it take to cross a pole?
Practice 8easy
Two trains start from the same station at the same time, moving in opposite directions. Train P travels at 72 km/h and Train Q travels at 48 km/h. After how many hours will they be 360 km apart?
Practice 9easy
A train 200 m long passes a stationary pole in 10 seconds. How long will it take to pass another train of length 300 m that is stationary on an adjacent track?
Practice 10easy
A train 200 m long crosses a pole in 10 seconds. How long will it take to cross a bridge of length 300 m?
Practice 11easy
Train A crosses a platform of length 150 m in 20 seconds. If the train's length is 250 m, what is the speed of Train A?
Practice 12easy
Two trains are moving towards each other on parallel tracks. Train X has a speed of 60 km/h and Train Y has a speed of 40 km/h. What is their relative speed?
Practice 13easy
Two trains are moving towards each other on parallel tracks. Train P travels at 45 km/h and Train Q travels at 55 km/h. If they are initially 400 km apart, in how many hours will they meet?
Practice 14medium
Train P and Train Q are running on parallel tracks. Train P (length 120 m) is running at 72 km/h, and Train Q (length 80 m) is running at 54 km/h in the same direction. How much time will Train P take to completely overtake Train Q?
Practice 15medium
A train crosses a bridge of length 500 m in 60 seconds while running at a constant speed. The same train crosses a tunnel of length 300 m in 40 seconds. What is the length of the train?
Practice 16medium
Two trains start simultaneously from stations X and Y, which are 360 km apart. Train P travels from X to Y at 60 km/h, and Train Q travels from Y to X at 90 km/h. At what distance from station X will they meet?
Practice 17medium
Two trains start simultaneously from stations P and Q, which are 360 km apart. Train X travels from P to Q at 60 km/h, and Train Y travels from Q to P at 90 km/h. At what distance from station P will the two trains meet?
Practice 18medium
Two trains start simultaneously from stations A and B, which are 360 km apart. Train X travels from A to B at 60 km/h, and Train Y travels from B to A at 40 km/h. At what distance from station A will the two trains meet?
Practice 19medium
A train travels 360 km in 6 hours. If the train increases its speed by 25%, how much time will it take to cover the same distance?
Practice 20medium
Two trains start simultaneously from stations A and B, which are 480 km apart. Train X travels from A to B at 60 km/h, and Train Y travels from B to A at 40 km/h. At what distance from station A will the two trains meet?
20 more practice questions in the Study Panel
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