RRB ALP / Technician 2026 exam pattern — sections, marks, negative marking
RRB ALP / Technician (RRB ALP and Technician (Assistant Loco Pilot, Technician Grade I Signal and Technician Grade III)) is conducted by Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). The stages are: CBT 1 → CBT 2 (Part A + B) → CBAT (ALP) → DV + medical. This page sets out each stage with its sections, questions, marks, duration and negative marking, explains how the final selection is made, and shows how to approach each subject. For dates and the current status of the 2026 cycle, see the RRB ALP / Technician guide.
✓ Data verified 6 Oct 2026
Stage-wise exam pattern
CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician) ALP: screening for CBT 2 · Technician: merit-deciding
Online CBT · 60 min · +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | ||
| Mental Ability (General Intelligence and Reasoning) | ||
| General Science | ||
| Total | 75 | 75 |
ALP CBT 1 (CEN 01/2026): 75 questions, 75 marks, 60 minutes, negative marking 1/3, marks normalised across shifts. The CEN lists three subject areas: Mathematics, Mental Ability and General Science (10th standard Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences). The 2026 CEN does not fix a section-wise question count and has no separate General Awareness or current affairs area (the 2025 CEN still had one), so treat the whole paper as the three areas above. Minimum qualifying marks: UR and EWS 40%, OBC-NCL and SC 30%, ST 25%. CBT 1 marks do not count in the final panel. Technician CBT (CEN 02/2026) is a different paper: 100 questions, 90 minutes, one CBT per pay level. Tentative break-up from the CEN: Grade III has Mathematics 25, General Intelligence and Reasoning 25, General Science 40, General Awareness 10; Grade I Signal has General Awareness 10, Reasoning 15, Basics of Computers and Applications 20, Mathematics 20, Basic Science and Engineering 35. The CEN calls these break-ups indicative.
CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test) Part A: merit-deciding · Part B: qualifying
Online CBT · 150 min · +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | ||
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | ||
| Basic Science and Engineering | ||
| Total | 175 | 175 |
ALP only. One combined sitting: Part A of 100 questions in 90 minutes plus Part B of 75 questions in 60 minutes (175 questions, 150 minutes in total). Part A covers Mathematics, General Intelligence and Reasoning and Basic Science and Engineering (engineering drawing, units and measurements, work power and energy, heat and temperature, basic electricity, levers and simple machines, safety, environment, IT literacy). Only Part A marks count for shortlisting to CBAT, and only if you also score the 35% qualifying marks in Part B (for every category). Part B questions come from your ITI trade syllabus as prescribed by DGT; ITI and Act Apprentice candidates get their own trade, while diploma and degree holders choose one trade from the grouping table in the CEN (electrical, electronics, mechanical or automobile streams). Minimum qualifying in Part A: UR and EWS 40%, OBC-NCL and SC 30%, ST 25%.
Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) Qualifying, with 50% weight in the final merit
Computer-based aptitude (psychometric) test · No negative marking
ALP only. Candidates equal to 8 times the ALP vacancies for each community are shortlisted for CBAT on the basis of Part A of CBT 2, after qualifying in Part B. The CBAT runs only in English and Hindi, has no negative marking, and is split into test batteries; you must clear every battery separately with a minimum T-score of 42 in each, with no relaxation for any category. From CEN 01/2026 the final merit is built as 50% Part A of CBT 2 + 50% CBAT (the 2025 CEN used 70:30, so always recheck the ratio in the notice you apply under). Candidates must carry the Self-Screening Medical Declaration Report (Annexures VIII A and VIII B), signed by a general physician and an eye specialist from a government hospital or medical college, on CBAT day. Practice material is published by RDSO on its Psychology Candidate's Corner page.
Document Verification and Medical Examination Qualifying (final stage)
In person at the RRB · Not applicable
For ALP, the DV shortlist is drawn from candidates who qualify in the CBAT, in the ratio of the vacancies; ties are broken first by age (older candidate ranks higher) and then alphabetically. For Technician, candidates equal to the vacancies are shortlisted for DV directly on CBT merit. Before your DV date you must upload scanned copies (in true colour) of your photo and signature on the orims-ir.gov.in/rbdv portal. At DV you produce all original certificates; absence or failure to produce originals forfeits the candidature. Appointment depends on clearing the railway medical examination: A-1 for ALP (distant vision 6/6, 6/6 without glasses, colour, binocular, night and mesopic vision tests; no LASIK), and B-1, A-3, B-2 or C-1 for Technician posts as per the post parameters annexure. A one-time medical appeal with prescribed charges is allowed if you fail the initial medical.
Selection process
ALP (CEN 01/2026): CBT 1 (screening) → CBT 2 Part A (merit) + Part B (trade, 35% qualifying) → CBAT (T-score 42 in every battery) → Document Verification → Medical Examination. The final merit is 50% Part A of CBT 2 + 50% CBAT; CBT 1 marks are not counted. Technician (CEN 02/2026): a single CBT per pay level → Document Verification → Medical Examination, with the DV shortlist prepared RRB-wise at 1:1 on normalised CBT marks. There is no interview and no typing or skill test in either path. Vacancies, post preference and medical standard together decide the final allotment of the railway zone and post.
Normalisation: why your raw score is not your final score
Both CBTs are held over multiple days and shifts with different question papers, so raw scores are normalised across shifts before results, using the RRBs' published normalisation method. Only the normalised score decides shortlisting and merit. In practice: never compare raw marks with friends in other shifts; a shift with a tougher paper is statistically adjusted in your favour; and a raw score just below a cutoff you have heard of may still clear after normalisation, so wait for the official result rather than assuming.
How to read this pattern
Each stage carries a tag that tells you what it is for. In this exam: CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician) is “ALP: screening for CBT 2 · Technician: merit-deciding”; CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test) is “Part A: merit-deciding · Part B: qualifying”; Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) is “Qualifying, with 50% weight in the final merit”; Document Verification and Medical Examination is “Qualifying (final stage)”. Read each stage's tag and notes to see whether its marks count towards the final merit or only decide who moves to the next stage, because that changes how much risk is worth taking on a single question.
Always check the negative marking line before you decide how freely to guess. Where there is a penalty, a wrong answer costs marks; where the data says there is none, leaving a question blank only loses the chance to score.
Question counts per section are the best guide to how much time and practice each subject deserves. Use the tables above to split your preparation in proportion to the marks on offer, and revisit the split after each mock or topic test.
How to approach each section
Each subject below links to the full notes on ExamShortcut. Key topics are the high-importance ones where our topic data flags them (or the ones that matter most for this exam); the question counts come from the pattern above.
Quantitative Aptitude
All 23 topics →CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician): null questions, null marks · CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test): null questions, null marks
Learn the formula and the shortcut for each topic first, then drill timed sets so that routine calculation questions take seconds. In the exam, take the questions you can do quickly and leave the long, multi-step ones for the end. Topic tests after every chapter show which topics still cost you time.
High-importance topics: Number System, Percentage, Ratio, Proportion, Partnership & Ages, Average, Interest (SI & CI), Profit, Loss & Discount
General Intelligence & Reasoning
All 20 topics →CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician): null questions, null marks · CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test): null questions, null marks
Reasoning rewards pattern recognition, so practise each question type until you recognise it on sight: series, coding-decoding, analogy, classification, syllogism, direction and blood-relation questions, and non-verbal figures. Work in rough on paper rather than in your head, and skip any puzzle that is not settling within a minute or so.
High-importance topics: Analogy, Classification (Odd One Out), Series (Number & Letter), Coding - Decoding, Blood Relations, Seating Arrangement
General Awareness
All 14 topics →CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician): null questions, null marks · CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test): null questions, null marks
General awareness is memory work, so revise in short, regular rounds instead of cramming. Combine static GK tables with the last several months of current affairs, and use the daily quiz to keep facts fresh. Decide in advance how much time you will give it.
High-importance topics: Modern Indian History, Indian Polity & Constitution, Indian Geography, Indian Economy, Biology, Static GK
Next, check who can apply on the RRB ALP / Technician eligibility page and compare posts and pay on the RRB ALP / Technician salary and posts page.
RRB ALP / Technician exam pattern — overview
CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician): 75 questions, 75 marks, 60 minutes, +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong. CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test): 175 questions, 175 marks, 150 minutes, +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong.
RRB ALP / Technician exam pattern — FAQs
What is the selection process for RRB ALP / Technician?
CBT 1 → CBT 2 (Part A + B) → CBAT (ALP) → DV + medical.
What is the CBT 1: First Stage (ALP) / single CBT (Technician) pattern in RRB ALP / Technician?
75 questions, 75 marks, 60 minutes, +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong. Sections: Mathematics (null questions, null marks); Mental Ability (General Intelligence and Reasoning) (null questions, null marks); General Science (null questions, null marks).
What is the CBT 2: Second Stage, Part A (merit) + Part B (trade test) pattern in RRB ALP / Technician?
175 questions, 175 marks, 150 minutes, +1 per correct, −1/3 per wrong. Sections: Mathematics (null questions, null marks); General Intelligence and Reasoning (null questions, null marks); Basic Science and Engineering (null questions, null marks).
Is there negative marking in the RRB ALP and Technician exams?
Yes. 1/3 mark is deducted for every wrong answer in every CBT, whether ALP CBT 1, ALP CBT 2 or the Technician CBT. Each correct answer carries 1 mark, and unattempted questions cost nothing. The CBAT has no negative marking.
What is the CBAT and how much does it count in the merit?
The Computer Based Aptitude Test is a psychometric test for ALP candidates only, held after CBT 2. Candidates equal to 8 times the vacancies per community are called. It runs in English and Hindi, has no negative marking, and you need a T-score of at least 42 in each test battery, with no relaxation. In the 2026 CEN the final merit is 50% Part A of CBT 2 + 50% CBAT; the 2025 CEN used 70:30, so always confirm the ratio in the notice you applied under.
Can I choose my exam language?
For the CBTs, questions appear in English, Hindi and 13 regional languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu); you pick one medium in the application and it cannot be changed. The CBAT is conducted only in English and Hindi.