How can a tram driver adjust the braking force of the rail brakes?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. It has no effect on regulating the braking force of the brakes.
Explanation
The question is about controlling the track brakes. The tram driver has no influence on adjusting the braking force of these brakes - answer C.
A track brake is an electromagnet which, when switched on, drops onto the rail and sticks to it with a force that results from its design. So it works on an "on or off" basis - the tram driver can activate it or release it, but cannot vary the strength of its action. That is why answers A and B, which assume that it can be adjusted, are wrong. For this reason, you use the track brake in emergency situations, and for normal, smooth braking you use the electrodynamic brake, whose force you can choose with the master controller.
Legal basis: Art. 3 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)