Railway TTE Exam Pattern: CBT Marks, Timing and Strategy

The Railway TTE exam pattern depends on the route you take to the post. Travelling Ticket Examiner is a Commercial Department post that is filled mainly through promotion and departmental selection. The Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) do not run a standalone TTE examination in the current cycle. The computer-based tests (CBTs) that candidates attempt on the way to a commercial career are the NTPC tests of CEN 06/2026 (graduate level) and CEN 07/2026 (12th level).

This page explains that CBT pattern in detail, including marks, timing, negative marking and a practical time strategy. For a departmental selection, the pattern is set by the railway in its own notice, so follow that notice if you are a serving employee.

Table of Contents

• Pattern at a glance

• CBT 1 pattern

• CBT 2 pattern

• Marking scheme and negative marking

• Qualifying marks and shortlisting

• What the pattern means for you

• Later stages after the CBTs

• Final selection and normalisation

• Time management and exam-day strategy

• Official sources and older pages

Pattern at a glance

This table follows the CEN 06/2026 notification text. Reports on CEN 07/2026 describe the same two CBT structure, but the notification for the 12th-level posts should be checked for post-specific rules such as any typing test, because the reports we saw were not consistent on that point.

CBT 1 pattern

CBT 1 is a screening test. A good score gets you into CBT 2, but CBT 1 marks are not meant to decide the final merit.

CBT 2 pattern

There is no separate sectional time limit mentioned in the sources we checked, so you can distribute the 90 minutes across the three subjects. Confirm this in the exam instructions on your admit card.

Marking scheme and negative marking

• Correct answer: One mark.

• Wrong answer: One third of a mark is deducted in both CBTs.

• Unattempted question: No deduction.

• Languages: English, Hindi and the regional languages listed in the notification.

Because a wrong answer costs 0.33 marks, a blind guess is a poor bet. Guess only when you can remove at least two options.

Qualifying marks and shortlisting

According to the CEN 06/2026 notification, the minimum qualifying percentages in CBT 1 are:

Candidates with benchmark disabilities may get a small relaxation in these marks. For CBT 2, candidates are shortlisted community-wise in a fixed multiple of the vacancies (15 times, as reported for CEN 06/2026), and document verification is then done in a 1:1 ratio with vacancies. Meeting the qualifying mark does not guarantee a call for CBT 2.

What the pattern means for you

• General Awareness is the biggest block: It is 40 percent of CBT 1 and about 42 percent of CBT 2, and a well-prepared candidate can finish it fastest.

• Average time per question is under a minute: In CBT 1, 90 minutes for 100 questions leaves about 54 seconds a question, so speed practice matters.

• A wrong guess costs more than a skip: Losing 0.33 marks on a wrong answer wipes out a third of what a correct one earns.

• Qualifying is not enough: CBT 1 only screens you in. Aim for a margin above the qualifying percentage so that you stay safe when difficulty changes.

Later stages after the CBTs

After CBT 2, shortlisted candidates go through document verification. For the graduate posts in CEN 06/2026, a medical examination follows as per the post's medical standard (for example, A-2 for Goods Train Manager and B-2 for Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor). The notification states that the computer-based typing skill test has been dispensed with for the graduate cycle. For the 12th-level posts, read the CEN 07/2026 notification for any later stage.

Final selection and normalisation

When a test is held in more than one session, the RRB applies a normalisation process to balance difficulty between sessions. You do not need to calculate it yourself, but it explains why raw scores from different shifts cannot be compared directly. Always judge your mock performance by accuracy and attempts, not by raw score alone.

Time management and exam-day strategy

1. Begin with your strongest section: For most candidates this is General Awareness, which can be done in about 25 minutes in CBT 1.

2. Do Mathematics and Reasoning in two passes: Solve the quick ones first and mark long calculations to return to.

3. Keep 10 minutes for review: Use them for marked questions, not for new guesses.

4. Do not chase one question: If you pass 90 seconds on a question, move on.

5. Practise in the real interface: Take full mocks on screen so that the question palette and timer feel familiar.

Official sources and older pages

Older pages may still show previous NTPC patterns or a TTE exam of 200 questions in five sections. We found no official notice for that format in the current cycle, so follow the official notification. Candidates apply through rrbapply.gov.in, and notices are posted on the official RRB website.