NEW DELHI, October 9 — The Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB) in coordination with all 21 Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) on Friday released the definitive examination schedule for the first stage Computer-Based Test (CBT-1) under Centralised Employment Notice CEN No. 05/2026 (NTPC Graduate Level) on its unified portal (rrbapply.gov.in).
The nationwide recruitment drive covers 8,113 sanctioned vacancies across key operational and commercial railway posts, including Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor, Station Master, Goods Train Manager, Junior Accounts Assistant cum Typist, and Senior Clerk cum Typist across Pay Levels 5 and 6. CBT-1 will be administered between December 18, 2026, and January 22, 2027, across designated digital testing centers in over 140 cities.
The 90-minute CBT-1 screening paper features 100 multiple-choice questions: General Awareness (40 questions), Mathematics (30 questions), and General Intelligence & Reasoning (30 questions), with a 1/3rd mark negative deduction per incorrect response. Scores will undergo percentile-based multi-shift normalization, shortlisting candidates for the post-specific CBT-2 stage at a 15-times ratio against notified zonal vacancies.
Centralized railway recruitment mechanics, percentile score normalization formulas adopted by the Ministry of Railways, operational safety mandates of Station Masters and Goods Train Managers, and Indian Railways' organizational hierarchy are staple focus areas for RRB NTPC, RRB JE, and SSC aspirants. Candidates should prioritize broad coverage of Indian Polity, Geography, General Science, and high-speed mental arithmetic.