RPF SI Cut-Off: Normalised CBT Cut-Off and How to Set Your Target

The RPF SI cut-off tells you how high you need to score in the computer-based test (CBT) to be called for the physical stage. This page gives the official normalised cut-off for the latest completed cycle, CEN RPF 01/2024, explains what it means, and shows how to set a realistic target. No newer RPF SI cycle could be confirmed as of October 2026.

Qualifying marks versus cut-off

These are two different things. Qualifying marks are the minimum to be considered at all: 35 percent (42 of 120) for UR, OBC and EWS and 30 percent (36 of 120) for SC and ST in the 2024 cycle. The cut-off is the score at which the shortlist for PET and PMT was actually drawn, and it was far higher.

RPF SI cut-off 2024: normalised CBT cut-off for PET/PMT

The RRBs published the normalised cut-off marks (scaled to 100) of candidates shortlisted for PET/PMT in a notice dated 3 March 2025. The values below are taken from that notice.

The category-to-column mapping in the source PDF is not labelled clearly, so these values follow the header order of the notice. Check them against the original PDF on the RRB Secunderabad page for CEN RPF 01/2024 before quoting them anywhere.

Note that these are normalised marks on a scale of 100, not raw marks out of 120. Your raw score of 90 out of 120 does not convert directly into a normalised score, because normalisation adjusts for the difficulty of your shift. Final cut-off figures for the whole selection, if published, are separate from this shortlisting cut-off.

Trend: what the numbers suggest

For the 2024 cycle, male UR candidates needed about 76 normalised marks to reach the physical stage, while female UR candidates needed about 69. Reserved categories were a few to ten marks lower. Older cycles used a different scoring scale, so a direct year-on-year comparison with earlier cut-offs would be misleading, and none is shown here.

What affects the cut-off

• Paper difficulty: A harder shift lowers raw scores, and normalisation partly corrects for this.

• Number of vacancies: Shortlisting is done in a ratio of the vacancies, so more posts usually mean a lower cut-off. The 2024 cycle had 452 posts.

• Number and quality of applicants: A larger pool of well-prepared candidates pushes the cut-off up.

• Category and gender: Separate lists are drawn for each, as the table shows.

How to set your target score

Cut-offs change every year, so treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.

1. Pick a mock target: If you are a UR male candidate, aim for a mock average that sits comfortably above the benchmark, in terms of the percentage of marks you score.

2. Protect accuracy: With one-third negative marking, aim for accuracy above 85 percent before increasing attempts.

3. Keep every section alive: A zero-effort section costs marks you cannot recover elsewhere.

4. Do not neglect fitness: The PET and PMT are qualifying, and a good CBT score is wasted if you cannot clear the race and measurements.