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Exam Updates
Railway Updates
Railway recruitment runs on a longer timeline than most. A single cycle can span notification, a first computer-based test, a second, a skill or aptitude test, document verification and a medical examination over many months — and candidates routinely lose momentum in the gaps between them.
Following updates through that period is therefore about more than dates. It is about knowing what the next stage requires and keeping the preparation that stage needs running while you wait.
Exam updates · checked 19 September 2026
Application forms closing soon, from the official notices
Every deadline below was read on the conducting body’s own portal. Apply days before the close — the last day is when portals slow down and no commission grants an extension for it.
Railways — checked 19 September 2026
Railway exam updates: NTPC, Group D, ALP and JE, stage by stage
The RRBs publish through the regional portals and the candidate login, with the same notice on every board. The NTPC cycles are in their later stages, Group D is between its answer key and its result, ALP awaits a CBT 1 date and JE has just closed applications.
| Date | Exam | What was published | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September | RRB JE CEN 04/2026 CBT 1 | RRB JE 2026 CBT 1 on 27, 28 and 30 October (tentative). The RRBs’ notice of 16 September 2026 fixes the tentative schedule of the first-stage CBT for CEN 04/2026 — Junior Engineer, Depot Material Superintendent and Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant — for 27, 28 and 30 October 2026. The exam city and date link opens about ten days before and e-call letters about four days before; Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication at the centre. | RRB portal, notice of 16 September 2026 |
| 16 September | RRB JE CEN 05/2025 CBT 2 | RRB JE 2025 (CEN 05/2025) CBT 2 result: document-verification shortlist and cut-off merit index. Each RRB published on 16 September 2026 the roll numbers shortlisted for document verification and medical examination on the CBT 2 of 2 July, the cut-off merit index by post category and community, and a link to the scorecard with questions and responses. Document verification follows. | RRB portal (RRB Chennai), 16 September 2026 |
| 14 September | RRB Paramedical CEN 05/2026 | RRB CEN 05/2026 — 590 paramedical posts, apply 15 September – 14 October. Detailed CEN of 14 September 2026 after an indicative notice of 12 September: Nursing Superintendent 365, Pharmacist 118, Health and Malaria Inspector 43, Lab Assistant 31, Radiographer 25, ECG Technician 4, Optometrist 2, Dialysis Technician 1, Audiologist 1 — 590 in all. Applications 15 September – 14 October (23:59), fee to 16 October, modification 17–26 October; age on 1 January 2027. | RRB portal, CEN 05/2026 PDF |
| 13 September | RRB NTPC graduate typing test | RRB NTPC (Graduate) typing-test city intimation from 13 September for the 24 September test. The link for the exam city intimation for the computer-based typing skill test of CEN 06/2025 opened on 13 September 2026 on the RRB websites; the test is scheduled for 24 September and the computer-based aptitude test for Station Master and Traffic Assistant for 30 September. The undergraduate CBT 2 of 17 September issued its e-call letters the same day. | RRB portal (RRB Chennai) |
| 10–11 September | RRB Technician and Section Controller CBTs | RRB Technician (CEN 02/2026) CBT 6–9 October; Section Controller (CEN 03/2026) CBT 12–13 October. Notices of 10 and 11 September 2026 fix the tentative CBT for Technician Grade I and Grade III under CEN 02/2026 for 6–9 October 2026 and for Section Controller under CEN 03/2026 for 12–13 October 2026, with city intimation ten days and e-call letters four days before. | RRB portal, notices of 10 and 11 September 2026 |
| 7 September | RRB NTPC UG CBT 2 | RRB NTPC undergraduate CBT 2 held 17 September; city intimation from 7 September. For CEN 07/2025 (3,058 undergraduate posts), the CBT 1 result came on 24 August 2026 and the CBT 2 was held on 17 September with exam-city intimation from 7 September and e-call letters four days before. The typing skill test for the graduate CEN 06/2025 is on 24 September and the aptitude test on 30 September. | RRB portal |
| 7 September | RRB Group D CEN 09/2025 | RRB Group D answer key and response sheets displayed; objections closed 15 September. The provisional answer keys and response sheets for the 3–25 August CBT were displayed through the candidate login from 7 September 2026, with objections to 15 September (5 p.m.), as reported from the RRB login; the result and the PET schedule are expected in October. | RRB candidate login, as reported |
| 27 August | RRB NTPC graduate CBT 2 | RRB NTPC graduate CBT 2 result of 27 August; typing test 24 September. For CEN 06/2025 (5,810 posts) the CBT 2 of 10 July 2026 had its result on 27 August; the typing skill test is on 24 September and the aptitude test for Station Master and Traffic Assistant on 30 September 2026. The undergraduate CBT 1 result (CEN 07/2025) came on 24 August. | RRB portal |
| 13 August | RRB JE CEN 04/2026 | RRB JE CEN 04/2026 — 3,993 posts plus 35 CMA; applications closed 13 September, modification window to 25 September. Published 13 August 2026 for Junior Engineer and Depot Material Superintendent; corrigendum of 18 August added 35 Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant posts. Applications ran 14 August – 13 September; the modification window runs to 25 September. CBT 1 fixed for 27, 28 and 30 October by the notice of 16 September. | RRB portal |
| 14 May | RRB ALP CEN 01/2026 | RRB ALP CEN 01/2026: 11,127 posts; CBT 1 date not yet announced. Published 14 May 2026 with 11,127 Assistant Loco Pilot vacancies; applications 15 May – 14 June, modifications 17–26 June, application-status notice 25 August. The CBT 1 schedule is awaited. | RRB portal |
| 31 January | RRB Group D CEN 09/2025 | RRB Group D: 22,195 Level 1 posts, 52.4 lakh applications. CEN 09/2025 of 31 January 2026 with 22,195 vacancies drew 52,39,760 applications — the largest at Chandigarh (6.4 lakh), Mumbai (5.3 lakh), Guwahati (5.2 lakh) and Secunderabad (4.5 lakh). The CBT ran 3–25 August 2026 in 16 sittings; result and PET awaited. | RRB portal |
The timeline
What a railway recruitment cycle looks like
- Notification and application — zone-wise or centralised depending on the recruitment, with post and zone preferences submitted at this stage.
- CBT 1 — the screening stage, run across many shifts and days, with scores normalised.
- CBT 2 and additional papers — the merit-counting stage, plus trade papers in ALP and technical papers in JE.
- Skill, aptitude or physical tests — typing for NTPC clerical posts, the aptitude battery for ALP, physical efficiency for Group D and RPF.
- Document verification and medical — where the medical classification for the post is applied, and where a candidate can be found ineligible after clearing everything else.
What to watch
Between stages
- Keep preparing during the gaps. They are long enough for preparation to decay and short enough that rebuilding it is difficult.
- Watch for the next stage’s requirements. Typing speed, aptitude test format or physical standards, each of which needs weeks or months.
- Do not compare raw scores across shifts. Normalisation means the published figure is not your raw mark and cross-shift comparison is meaningless.
- Check the medical standard for your post early. Especially for ALP, where the vision requirement is the strictest in railway recruitment.
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Questions
Railway Updates — FAQs
Why do railway recruitment cycles take so long?
Because of scale. These recruitments attract applicant numbers large enough that the computer-based tests must run across many shifts and days, and the process then continues through a second CBT, skill or physical tests, document verification and a medical examination. A single cycle can span many months from notification to final result, which is why maintaining preparation through the gaps between stages is one of the practical challenges specific to railway recruitment.
What is normalisation in RRB results?
Because the examinations run across many shifts with papers that differ slightly in difficulty, scores are statistically adjusted so that candidates who sat a harder shift are not penalised. The published figure is therefore not your raw mark, and comparing raw scores with candidates from other shifts tells you very little about your relative position. Normalisation applies to the CBTs in every RRB recruitment.
What should I do between railway exam stages?
Keep preparing, and specifically prepare for what the next stage requires. The gaps are long enough for knowledge and physical fitness to decay and short enough that rebuilding them is difficult. For NTPC clerical posts that means typing practice; for ALP the aptitude test format and trade paper; for Group D and RPF the physical standards. Checking the medical classification for your post early also matters, since a candidate can clear every other stage and be found ineligible at the end.
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