Which is the most analytical statement about the link between deforestation and railway construction?

Correct answer: Railways required timber for sleepers and land for laying tracks, increasing pressure on forests

Railway expansion put pressure on forests in two ways: large quantities of durable timber were needed for sleepers, and land was cleared to lay railway tracks. Thus, option A connects both cause and effect. Option B is incorrect because the demand for wooden sleepers was very high during the colonial period. Exam tip: link railways with both sleeper demand and land clearance for railway routes.