RRB ALP 2026: Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates and Preparation

RRB ALP at a glance

These facts are as per Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) 01/2026 for Assistant Loco Pilot, published by the Railway Recruitment Boards on 14 May 2026, and the RRBs' notices of 25 August 2026 (application status) and 21 September 2026 (CBT-1 schedule).

Selection process

1. Online application through the unified RRB application portal. A candidate applies to one RRB only and gives zone preferences within it; the chosen RRB cannot be changed later. For CEN 01/2026 the window was 15 May to 14 June 2026. The form includes a self-screening medical declaration on eyesight, hearing, speech and health conditions.
2. CBT-1, a 60-minute screening test of 75 questions. Marks are normalised across shifts. Candidates are shortlisted RRB-wise for CBT-2 at 15 times the RRB's vacancies, on CBT-1 merit among candidates who chose the same RRB. CBT-1 marks do not count in the final panel.
3. CBT-2 in two parts on the same day: Part A (100 questions, 90 minutes) and Part B (75 questions, 60 minutes). Part B is a trade test from the DGT syllabus of the candidate's ITI trade; diploma and degree holders pick a trade mapped to their engineering branch. Part B is qualifying at 35% for every category, and only Part A marks count further.
4. Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) for candidates equal to 8 times the vacancies in each community, shortlisted on Part A marks. Each test battery must be cleared separately with a T-score of at least 42. There is no negative marking, and the test is in English and Hindi only. The signed medical self-screening report from a government hospital or medical college must be produced on CBAT day.
5. Document Verification for candidates equal to the number of vacancies, chosen on a merit list that weighs CBT-2 Part A marks and CBAT scores 50:50, together with zone preferences. Ties go to the older candidate, then to the alphabetical order of the given name.
6. Medical Examination in standard A-1 by the Railway administration. A candidate who fails the medical is not offered an alternative post; one medical appeal is allowed on payment of the prescribed charges.

Minimum qualifying marks in CBT-1 and in Part A of CBT-2 are 40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC (NCL) and SC, and 25% for ST; Ex-Servicemen qualify at their community's percentage. Questions in the CBTs are shown in the language chosen at application and in English. SC and ST candidates who opt for it get a free sleeper-class rail pass with the e-call letter. Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication is done at the exam centre before entry.

Exam pattern

CBT-1 (first stage, screening)

CEN 01/2026 does not give a subject-wise split of the 75 questions. The standard of questions is that of the educational and technical qualifications prescribed for the post.

CBT-2 (second stage)

Basic Science and Engineering covers engineering drawing (projections, views, drawing instruments, lines, geometric figures, symbolic representation), units and measurements, mass, weight and density, work, power and energy, speed and velocity, heat and temperature, basic electricity, levers and simple machines, occupational safety and health, environment education and IT literacy. One-third mark is deducted per wrong answer in both parts. For Part B, Electrical Engineering candidates choose from Electrician, Instrument Mechanic, Wireman, Armature and Coil Winder or Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic; Electronics from Electronics Mechanic or Mechanic (Radio and TV); Mechanical from Fitter, Mechanic (Motor Vehicle), Tractor Mechanic, Mechanic (Diesel), Turner, Machinist, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic or Millwright/Maintenance Mechanic; Automobile from Mechanic (Motor Vehicle), Tractor Mechanic, Mechanic (Diesel) or Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic.

Computer Based Aptitude Test

The CBAT has several test batteries. A T-score of 42 in each battery is needed to qualify, and there is no negative marking. CBAT scores carry 50% weight in the final merit. The CEN points candidates to the Psychology Candidate's Corner on the RDSO website for details of the batteries.

General Awareness and General Science syllabus

CEN 01/2026 lists no General Awareness or current affairs section in CBT-1 or CBT-2. This is a change: the previous notice, CEN 01/2025, had a fourth CBT-1 subject, General Awareness, covering current affairs, science and technology, sports, culture, personalities, economics and politics. In CEN 01/2026 the knowledge part of CBT-1 is General Science alone, and CBT-2 Part A adds Basic Science and Engineering.

General Science, as the CEN puts it, is Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences of Class 10 level. Read against GK24's GK notes for the exam, that means:

• Physics: units and measurement, motion, force and laws of motion, gravitation, work, energy and power, sound, light (reflection, refraction, lenses, the human eye), electricity, magnetic effects of current, sources of energy
• Chemistry: matter and its states, atoms and molecules, structure of the atom, chemical reactions and equations, acids, bases and salts, metals and non-metals, carbon and its compounds, periodic classification of elements
• Life Sciences: cell and tissues, life processes (nutrition, respiration, transport, excretion), control and coordination, reproduction, heredity and evolution, diseases and health, our environment and natural resources

Guidance, not the CEN: the Basic Science and Engineering topics of CBT-2 Part A overlap with Class 10 Physics, so units, work, power and energy, speed, heat and basic electricity repay double study. Current affairs is not a listed subject this cycle. GK24's daily current affairs remain useful for candidates who also sit RRB NTPC or other exams that test General Awareness, and as a low-cost hedge should a later notice restore the section. Read the CEN of any cycle you apply to, because the RRBs have changed this between notices.

Eligibility and age limit

Nationality

A candidate must be a citizen of India or Nepal, a subject of Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 to settle permanently, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam to settle permanently in India. Candidates other than Indian citizens need a certificate of eligibility from the Government of India, to be produced at document verification.

Educational qualification

The qualification must be held on or before the closing date of the CEN. Candidates awaiting their final result are not eligible and are told not to apply. The post is not identified as suitable for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, and PwBD candidates cannot apply.

Age limit

The age limit is 18 to 30 years as on 1 July 2026. Candidates must have been born between 2 July 1996 and 1 July 2008 (UR and EWS), not before 2 July 1993 (OBC-NCL) or not before 2 July 1991 (SC and ST), the lower date limit being the same for all.

Only the largest relaxation applies where more than one is due. The date of birth in the Matriculation certificate is final.

Medical standard A-1

Distant vision 6/6 in each eye without glasses, with a fogging test (must not accept +2D); near vision Sn 0.6 in each eye without glasses; and passing tests for colour vision, binocular vision, field of vision, night vision and mesopic vision. Candidates who have had LASIK or any other surgery to correct refractive error are not eligible. The self-screening report generated at application must be signed by a General Physician and an Eye Specialist of a Central or State Government hospital or medical college and submitted on CBAT day; the final medical is by the Railway medical authorities under the Indian Railway Medical Manual.

Important dates

Dates of CBT-2, the CBAT and document verification are published on the RRB websites and sent by SMS and email when fixed; none had been announced as of the notice of 21 September 2026. Requests for a change of exam date, centre or shift are not entertained.

How to prepare General Awareness for RRB ALP

For CEN 01/2026 the knowledge section to prepare is General Science, with Basic Science and Engineering in CBT-2. This plan is guidance from GK24, not part of the CEN.

1. Cover Class 10 science topic by topic. Use the GK24 GK notes for RRB ALP on Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences; each note is a set of short facts, formulas and tables that can be revised in one sitting. Finish all three subjects once before October, then revise weekly.
2. Solve previous-year questions. The RRB ALP previous-year questions on GK24 show the level the RRBs pitch science at: definitions, SI units, everyday applications, one-step numericals, human-body facts and named laws.
3. Take timed quizzes. Practise GK24 quizzes against the clock and skip what you do not know; at one-third mark per wrong answer, three wrong answers erase a right one.
4. Study Basic Science and Engineering with the same notes. Units, work and energy, heat, speed and electricity appear in both CBT-1 General Science and CBT-2 Part A; engineering drawing, simple machines and occupational safety need separate reading from ITI or diploma texts.
5. Keep a light current-affairs habit. Current affairs is not a listed subject in CEN 01/2026, so give GK24's daily current affairs ten minutes a day rather than hours, for the General Awareness sections of other RRB exams you may sit.
6. Do not neglect the CBAT. It carries half of the final merit. Practise the RDSO sample batteries the CEN links to, because each battery must be cleared separately.

Post and pay

Assistant Loco Pilot is a Level-2 post of the 7th CPC pay matrix with an initial pay of ₹19,900, in medical category A-1. Selected candidates undergo training where prescribed and draw only a stipend during training. Posting is to the zonal railway or production unit allotted on merit and preference within the chosen RRB; the CEN says no transfer request is registered until 5 to 10 years of service, and appointees are liable for service in the Railway Engineers' Unit of the Territorial Army.

The full RRB-wise and zone-wise table is Annexure-B of CEN 01/2026. Vacancies are provisional and may be revised by the Railway administration.