This page follows the Railway Recruitment Boards' own documents for Junior Engineer (JE), Depot Material Superintendent (DMS) and Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant (CMA): the detailed Centralised Employment Notice CEN 04/2026 (13 August 2026), its two corrigenda and the schedule notices on the RRB website up to 13 November 2026. CEN 04/2026 is the newest notified cycle as of that date. The cycle before it was CEN 05/2025. Where we did not read something, we say so at the end.
The cycle in one table
| CEN 04/2026 | |
|---|---|
| Indicative notice in Employment News | 25.07.2026 |
| Detailed CEN published | 13.08.2026 |
| Online application | 14.08.2026 to 13.09.2026 (fee payment till 15.09.2026) |
| Modification window | 16.09.2026 to 25.09.2026 |
| Pay level and initial pay | Level 6, ₹35,400 (all posts) |
| Age as on 01.01.2027 | 18 to 33 years |
| Total vacancies, all RRBs | 3,993 at notification; 4,029 after Corrigendum-1; 4,487 after Corrigendum-2 |
| Applications submitted (tentative, RRB notice of 12.11.2026) | 5,64,350 |
Age relaxation is 3 years for OBC (non-creamy layer) and 5 years for SC and ST, with further relaxations in para 5.2 of the CEN. The CEN says vacancies are provisional and may increase or decrease.
Fee. ₹500 for general candidates, of which ₹400 is refunded (less bank charges) on appearing in the 1st stage CBT. ₹250 for SC, ST, ex-servicemen, PwBD, female, transgender, minority and Economically Backward Class candidates, refunded in full (less bank charges) on appearing in the 1st stage CBT.
Posts and qualifications
The CEN's Annexure A lists 37 post categories, all at Level 6. Corrigendum-1 added a 38th.
| Group of posts | Category numbers | Minimum qualification in Annexure A |
|---|---|---|
| Junior Engineer, Electrical department | 1 to 9 | Three-year diploma in Mechanical, Electrical or Electronics Engineering |
| Junior Engineer, Engineering (Civil) department | 10 to 19 | Three-year diploma in Civil Engineering, or B.Sc. in Civil Engineering of three years |
| Junior Engineer, Track Machine | 20 | Three-year diploma in Mechanical, Production, Automobile, Electrical, Electronics or Instrumentation and Control Engineering |
| Junior Engineer, Mechanical department | 21 to 31 | Three-year diploma in Mechanical and allied disciplines (Electrical and Electronics also listed) |
| Junior Engineer, Signal and Telecommunication | 32 to 36 | Three-year diploma in Electrical, Electronics, IT, Communication or Computer disciplines |
| Depot Material Superintendent | 37 | Three-year diploma in Engineering in any discipline |
| Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant | 38 | B.Sc. in Physics and Chemistry with at least 45% marks |
Annexure A notes that higher qualifications such as B.E. or B.Tech. are acceptable in place of the diploma in the same discipline. Candidates awaiting final results cannot apply. Medical standards differ by post (A-3, B-1, B-2 or C-1). The CEN says candidates who have had Lasik or similar surgery are not eligible for posts that need A-3.
Corrigendum-2 revised two categories at the RRBs it names: JE P.Way (category 17) to a combined 660 vacancies at eight RRBs, and JE S and T Signal (category 35) to a combined 148 at eight RRBs. It says the vacancies of other RRBs are unchanged. Corrigendum-1 notified 35 CMA vacancies across six RRBs.
Stages
- 1st Stage Computer Based Test (CBT-I)
- 2nd Stage Computer Based Test (CBT-II)
- Document Verification (DV)
- Medical Examination (ME)
There is no interview, skill test or aptitude test in the CEN.
CBT-1 (1st stage), common for all posts
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 30 | 30 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 25 | 25 |
| General Awareness | 15 | 15 |
| General Science | 30 | 30 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
- Duration 90 minutes; 120 minutes for candidates eligible for a scribe.
- Objective, multiple choice.
- Negative marking: 1/3 of the marks allotted to the question for each wrong answer.
- The CEN calls the section split "only indicative", with "some variations" possible in the actual paper.
- CBT-1 is "of screening nature". Its normalised score is used only for shortlisting to CBT-2.
- Shortlist size for CBT-2: 15 times the community-wise total vacancy of posts notified against the RRB, on CBT-1 merit. Railways can raise or lower this.
- Minimum percentage of marks for eligibility: UR 40%, EWS 40%, OBC (NCL) 30%, SC 30%, ST 25%. It can be relaxed by 2 marks for PwBD candidates if there is a shortage against their reserved vacancies.
- Anyone shortlisted for CBT-2 using a reservation benefit continues to be considered only in that community for all later stages.
CBT-2 (2nd stage)
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Awareness | 15 | 15 |
| Physics and Chemistry | 15 | 15 |
| Basics of Computers and Applications | 10 | 10 |
| Basics of Environment and Pollution Control | 10 | 10 |
| Technical Abilities (your exam group) | 100 | 100 |
| Total | 150 | 150 |
- Duration 120 minutes; 160 minutes for candidates eligible for a scribe.
- Same marking (1/3 negative), same indicative-split wording, same minimum percentages.
- A virtual calculator is available on the screen during CBT-2, per the CEN.
- Technical questions follow one of five exam groups: Civil, Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical (each "and Allied Engineering") and CMA. See the syllabus page.
Normalisation and the Merit Index
Candidates from different exam groups compete for some common posts, so the CEN does not rank on plain marks. Para 13.4 says:
When a CBT runs in multiple sessions for the same syllabus, raw marks are converted to normalised marks.
A Merit Index is then computed as a common benchmark across exam groups:
Merit Index = Sq + (St − Sq) × (M − Mq) / (Mt − Mq)
where M is the candidate's marks (raw for a single-session paper, normalised otherwise), Mq is the qualifying mark for a general candidate (40), Mt is the mean marks of the top 0.1% of candidates in that paper (or the top 10, whichever is larger), Sq is 350 and St is 900.
Read plainly, this is a scale on which the 40% qualifying mark becomes 350 and the average of the paper's toppers becomes 900. The Merit Index is calculated only for candidates at or above their community's qualifying marks. A combined list is then drawn in descending order of Merit Index and posts are allotted by preference.
Document verification, ties and allotment
- Candidates are shortlisted for DV on their marks and merit in CBT-2 and their options, equal to the number of vacancies (1:1).
- Tie-break: the older candidate ranks higher; if age is the same, alphabetical order (A to Z) of the given name decides.
- Empanelment needs successful DV and the prescribed medical examination. A candidate who fails the medical standard for an opted post gets no alternative appointment.
- You can apply to only one RRB. Options once exercised are final.
Medium, gadgets and exam-day rules
- Questions are available in English, Hindi and 13 regional languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. They are displayed in the language opted and in English.
- Calculators, mobile phones, watches, pens and paper are on the banned list. Only the e-call letter is allowed inside.
- Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication is done at the centre, per the schedule notices.
- RRB says mock or practice tests are made available on its website to get familiar with the online examination process.
Schedule so far, from RRB notices
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| First tentative CBT-1 schedule (notice of 16.09.2026) | 27, 28 and 30 October 2026 |
| Revised tentative schedule (notice of 02.10.2026) | 27 and 28 October 2026 |
| CBT-1 of 28.10.2026 postponed at centres in Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada because of a cyclonic storm | notice of 27.10.2026 |
| Rescheduled CBT-1 for those candidates | 2 November 2026 |
| CBT-1 conducted (notice of 10.11.2026) | 27.10.2026, 28.10.2026 and 02.11.2026 |
| Viewing question papers, responses and keys; raising objections (₹50 per question, refunded if the objection is found correct) | 11.11.2026 to 17.11.2026, 23:59 hrs |
| CBT-1 result, CBT-2 date | not announced as of 13.11.2026 |
Strategy arithmetic (our calculation from the scheme)
This is arithmetic from the marking scheme and the notices, not RRB advice.
- With +1 for a right answer and −1/3 for a wrong one, the break-even chance of being right is 25%: 0.25 − 0.75 × 1/3 = 0. A blind four-option guess is neutral; after eliminating two options the expected gain is +0.33 per question.
- Time per question if spread evenly: 90 minutes for 100 questions is 54 seconds in CBT-1; 120 minutes for 150 questions is 48 seconds in CBT-2. The CEN gives one duration per paper and does not mention sectional timers.
- A CBT-1 attempt of 70 right and 12 wrong gives 70 − 4 = 66 raw marks. Normalisation then changes the number.
- 5,64,350 submitted applications against 4,487 vacancies is about 126 applications per vacancy. Fifteen times 4,487 is about 67,300 CBT-2 places if the 15-times rule is applied as written. Not every applicant appears, and RRB can change the ratio.
What this page does not have
- RRB-wise and zone-wise vacancy tables (Annexure B, pages 35 to 58 of the CEN) and post-wise totals other than the two categories revised by Corrigendum-2 and the CMA total.
- The CBT-1 result and cut-offs of CEN 04/2026, and the CBT-2 date. They were not published as of 13 November 2026.
- The normalisation formula. The CEN says marks are normalised; RRB's separate normalisation notice of 9 February 2026 is a scanned document that we did not re-read for this page.
- A line-by-line comparison with CEN 05/2025, beyond noting that its CBT-1 and CBT-2 question counts and durations are the same.
Try the CBT-1 format with a free 10-question mini-mock and the Daily Dangal. Full mocks, previous-year papers and topic practice are Pro.
Related: Syllabus · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy