RRB NTPC
Recruits for non-technical Indian Railways posts at Pay Levels 2-6. The 2026 Graduate CEN covers Goods Train Manager, Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor, Senior Clerk cum Typist and Junior Accounts Assistant cum Typist. The 2026 Undergraduate CEN covers Commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Junior Clerk cum Typist, Accounts Clerk cum Typist and Trains Clerk. Earlier cycles also included Station Master and Traffic Assistant.
Eligibility
Graduate-level posts need a bachelor's degree from a recognised university. Undergraduate-level posts need Class 12 (10+2) pass, with 50% marks for general candidates for clerk/typist posts. Age is 18-33 years for Graduate posts and 18-30 years for Undergraduate posts (CEN 06/2026 and 07/2026 reckon age as on 1 January 2027), with relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST, 3 years for OBC-NCL and more for PwBD and ex-servicemen. There is no cap on the number of attempts within the age limit.
Age limit: 18-33 years (Graduate), 18-30 years (Undergraduate), as on 1 January 2027 for the 2026 CENs; category relaxations apply
Exam pattern
Online Computer Based Test (CBT) in two stages, followed by document verification and medical examination. CBT 1 (screening) has 100 questions in 90 minutes: General Awareness 40, Mathematics 30, General Intelligence and Reasoning 30. Normalised CBT 1 scores shortlist 15 times the vacancies for CBT 2. CBT 2 has 120 questions in 90 minutes: General Awareness 50, Mathematics 35, Reasoning 35. All questions are multiple-choice with 1/3 mark negative marking per wrong answer, and the minimum qualifying marks are 40% (UR/EWS), 30% (OBC-NCL/SC) and 25% (ST). In the 2026 CENs (06/2026 and 07/2026), the Computer Based Typing Skill Test for typist posts has been dropped. No Station Master or Traffic Assistant posts are notified, so there is no Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) in this cycle.
Syllabus at a glance
Mathematics covers number system, simplification, ratio and proportion, percentages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time and work, time-speed-distance, mensuration, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and elementary statistics. Reasoning covers analogies, series, coding-decoding, syllogism, puzzles, Venn diagrams, data sufficiency and statement-conclusion. General Awareness covers current affairs, Indian history, polity, geography, economy, general science up to Class 10, static GK, sports, culture and computer basics.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate level (CEN 06/2026, 3,548 posts) online application window | 8 Oct - 6 Nov 2026 (fee payment till 8 Nov) | confirmed |
| Undergraduate level (CEN 07/2026, 1,688 posts) online application window | 15 Oct - 13 Nov 2026 (fee payment till 15 Nov) | confirmed |
| Application modification windows (₹250 fee per occasion) | 9-18 Nov 2026 (Graduate); 16-25 Nov 2026 (Undergraduate) | confirmed |
| Graduate level CBT 1 | Late Dec 2026 (fourth week, tentative) | expected |
| Undergraduate level CBT 1 | Early-mid 2027 | expected |
| CBT 2 and document verification | 2027 | tba |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Lucent's General Knowledge - Lucent Publications (Dr Binay Karna et al.)
- Fast Track Objective Arithmetic - Rajesh Verma (Arihant)
- A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning - R.S. Aggarwal (S. Chand)
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations - R.S. Aggarwal (S. Chand)
- RRB NTPC Chapterwise Solved Papers - Kiran Prakashan / Arihant Experts
- Lucent's General Science - Lucent Publications
How toppers play it
- General Awareness carries 40 of 100 marks in CBT 1 and 50 of 120 in CBT 2, so treat it as the deciding section: revise NCERT science, static GK and the last 6-8 months of current affairs every day.
- Past NTPC papers repeat question types heavily; solve at least 20-30 shift-wise papers to learn the GA patterns (awards, sports, Railway facts, Indian culture).
- Negative marking is 1/3 per wrong answer, so in a 90-minute paper aim for 85-90 accurate attempts rather than guessing all 100; attempt Reasoning first, then GA, then Maths.
- Only CBT 2 marks decide the merit list in the 2026 cycle (no typing test or CBAT), so after CBT 1 switch fully to CBT 2's higher-weight GA and full-length CBT 2 mocks.
- Choose your RRB and post preferences carefully: the chosen RRB cannot be changed even in the modification window, and Goods Train Manager (2,750 of 3,548 Graduate posts) needs medical standard A2.