Railway Recruitment 2026: RRB NTPC, Group D, ALP and JE Compared, with Current Cycles

Railway recruitment at a glance

The facts on this page are as per CEN 06/2025 and 07/2025 (NTPC), CEN 09/2025 (Level-1), CEN 01/2026 (ALP), CEN 04/2026 (JE) and the RRBs' exam notices up to 23 September 2026.

• There are 21 Railway Recruitment Boards under the Ministry of Railways.
• Every recruitment starts with a Centralised Employment Notice (CEN), numbered by year, such as CEN 04/2026. One CEN covers all RRBs, with the posts, each RRB's vacancies, the eligibility, the pattern and one application window.
• A short indicative notice in Employment News comes first. For JE it came on 25 July 2026, and the detailed CEN on 13 August 2026.
• Under a CEN, a candidate applies to one RRB only and gives preferences for posts and zones within it. More than one application leads to rejection of all of them.
• Applications go through rrbapply.gov.in, and all RRBs post notices on the common website, rrb.indianrailways.gov.in.
• For Level-1 (Group D), the RRBs recruit for the Railway Recruitment Cells (RRCs) of the zonal railways, which hold the PET, document verification and medical.

The four exams on GK24

The upper age limit is relaxed by 5 years for SC and ST and 3 years for OBC-NCL, with more for PwBD, Ex-Servicemen and serving railway staff. ALP is not open to PwBD candidates. The fee is the same in all four CENs: ₹500, with ₹400 refunded after the first CBT, or ₹250 for the concessional categories, refunded in full.

Which railway exam should you take?

Your qualification on the closing date of the application decides which CENs are open to you. Candidates awaiting a final result cannot apply. Start from the row that matches your highest qualification.

A higher qualification does not bar you from Group D, though CEN 09/2025 does not accept an engineering diploma or degree in place of an ITI. NTPC Under Graduate does not insist on the 50% for candidates with a higher qualification, or for SC, ST, PwBD and Ex-Servicemen.

Age and medical standard also decide

• NTPC Under Graduate and ALP stop at 30 years before relaxations. NTPC Graduate, Group D and JE go up to 33.
• Each CEN counts age on its own date: 1 January 2026 for NTPC and Group D, 1 July 2026 for ALP and 1 January 2027 for JE.
• ALP needs medical standard A-1: 6/6 vision in each eye without glasses, and no LASIK.

GK24 guidance: each CEN is a separate recruitment, so you can apply to every one you qualify for. NTPC and Group D share Mathematics, Reasoning and a knowledge section; ALP and JE add technical subjects for your trade or branch.

How RRB exams are structured

• Computer based tests. Every exam starts with an online objective CBT. NTPC, ALP and JE have two CBT stages, and CBT-1 only shortlists for CBT-2; its marks do not count in the final merit. Group D has one CBT under CEN 09/2025.
• Negative marking. One-third mark is deducted for each wrong answer in every CBT of all four exams. An unanswered question costs nothing.
• Normalisation. A test held in several shifts is normalised under the RRBs' methodology notice of February 2026, which applies to all CENs.
• Qualifying marks. UR and EWS 40%, OBC-NCL and SC 30%, ST 25% in NTPC, ALP and JE. CEN 09/2025 (Group D) sets 30% for ST as well.
• Exam day. The city and date link opens 10 days before a test, the e-call letter 4 days before, and Aadhaar-linked biometric checks are done at the centre.

Shortlisting at each stage

Skill, aptitude and physical tests

• CBAT (Computer Based Aptitude Test). For NTPC Station Master and Traffic Assistant, and for ALP: a T-score of 42 in each battery, no negative marking. Merit weighs CBT-2 and CBAT 70:30 for the NTPC posts and 50:50 for ALP.
• Typing Skill Test (CBTST). For the NTPC typist posts. It is qualifying: 30 words per minute in English or 25 in Hindi.
• ALP trade test. CBT-2 Part B, from the DGT syllabus, qualifying at 35% for all.
• PET (Physical Efficiency Test). Group D only, qualifying. Men carry 35 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes and run 1,000 metres in 4 minutes 15 seconds; women carry 20 kg and run it in 5 minutes 40 seconds.

Document verification and medical

Candidates equal to the vacancies are called for document verification with original certificates. Each post has a medical standard. A-1, for ALP, is the strictest; A-2 covers posts such as Station Master, Goods Train Manager and Pointsman B; B-1, B-2 and C-1 allow glasses within limits. A candidate unfit for the post opted for is not offered another post, but may make one medical appeal on payment.

Current railway cycles

Status as on 25 September 2026, from the RRBs' notices. A date marked tentative can change until the exam city link and e-call letter come out.

Cycles of the four exams

Earlier cycles still in progress

What comes next

The RRBs' annual calendar of 2 February 2024 plans the issue of CENs by quarter:

In 2026 the RRBs have issued CEN 01/2026 (ALP, 14 May), 02/2026 (Technicians, 30 June), 03/2026 (Section Controller, 15 July), 04/2026 (JE, 13 August) and 05/2026 (Paramedical, 14 September). No NTPC or Level-1 CEN for 2026 had been published as of 25 September 2026; the last ones came in October 2025 and January 2026. Until an indicative notice appears, any expected month is tentative.

General Awareness and General Science in railway exams

What the CENs list

• NTPC has the longest list, 18 topics: current events, sports, art and culture, general science up to 10th, history and the freedom struggle, geography, polity, the economy, science and technology including the space and nuclear programme, world organisations, environment, computers, abbreviations, transport systems in India, personalities, flagship government programmes, flora and fauna, and government organisations.
• Group D lists current affairs in science and technology, sports, culture, personalities, economics, politics and any other subject of importance.
• JE lists current affairs, Indian geography, history and culture with the freedom struggle, polity and the Constitution, the economy, environment, sports and scientific developments.
• ALP: CEN 01/2026 dropped the General Awareness section. Its CBT-1 lists only Mathematics, Mental Ability and General Science. The previous notice, CEN 01/2025, had General Awareness as a fourth CBT-1 subject.

What recurs, and where it is on GK24 (GK24 guidance)

Class 10 science is the one topic all four exams test. Current affairs, sports and science and technology news appear in all three General Awareness lists. NTPC and JE add static history, geography, polity, economy, environment and computers.

• Daily current affairs: in English and Hindi, from official releases, dated by release and tagged for railway exams.
• GK notes: topic-wise General Science at Class 10 level, History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Art and Culture, Environment, Computers and static GK, including Indian Railways.
• Quizzes: daily, weekly and monthly current-affairs quizzes, and a topic quiz for each GK note.
• Previous-year questions: on each exam's own page, with answers and explanations.

How to prepare for railway exams with GK24

This plan is GK24's guidance, not part of any CEN. It takes 45 to 60 minutes a day, alongside Mathematics and Reasoning.

Adjust the plan to your exam

• NTPC: General Awareness is the largest section, so give current affairs and static GK the most time. The next NTPC cycle is not yet notified; the news you read now is what its CBT will ask.
• Group D: keep all three science days (science 25 marks, General Awareness 20). Start PET practice, weight carrying first, before the CBT result.
• ALP (CBT-1 from 3 November 2026): cut current affairs to 10 minutes. Give Thursday and Friday to Basic Science and Engineering. Practise CBAT batteries, since the CBAT is half the final merit.
• JE (CBT-1 from 27 October 2026): General Science carries 30 marks and General Awareness 15. After CBT-1, add Environment and Computers for CBT-2.

In the last two weeks before a CBT, stop new topics, take one timed set a day, and use the RRBs' mock test link.