Railway Recruitment Board Assistant Loco Pilot

The RRB ALP exam is how Indian Railways recruits Assistant Loco Pilots, the technical crew who assist the Loco Pilot in running and maintaining trains. The Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) conduct it through a single centralised notification, and the current cycle runs under CEN No. 01/2026 for 11,127 Level 2 posts.

This RRB ALP 2026 guide brings together everything a candidate needs in one place: vacancies, important dates, eligibility, fees, the stage-wise exam pattern, a syllabus summary, salary and a practical preparation plan. Two changes make this cycle different from earlier ones. General Awareness has been removed from CBT 1, and the final merit list now gives equal weight to CBT 2 Part A and the aptitude test (CBAT). Both changes affect how you should divide your preparation time.

Table of Contents

RRB ALP 2026 at a Glance

RRB ALP Notification 2026 (CEN 01/2026)

The RRBs published an indicative notice for CEN 01/2026 in March 2026, followed by the detailed notification on 14 May 2026. Applications were accepted online from 15 May to 14 June 2026. According to figures reported after the application window closed, 8,40,944 applications were received, which works out to roughly 76 applicants for every post.

The detailed notification introduced two important changes:

• CBT 1 now has three subjects: Mathematics, Mental Ability and General Science. General Awareness and Current Affairs have been dropped, while the paper stays at 75 questions in 60 minutes.

• Final merit is now 50:50: CBT 2 Part A and CBAT each carry 50% weightage. In earlier cycles the split was 70% for CBT 2 Part A and 30% for CBAT.

Proposed additional vacancies: A Railway Board notice dated 29 September 2026 asks zonal railways to place indents for about 3,500 additional ALP posts. If these are added through a formal corrigendum, the total would rise to about 14,627. Until the RRBs publish that corrigendum, treat 11,127 as the notified figure.

Separately, the previous cycle (CEN 01/2025) is still running for its own candidates. Its vacancies were revised from 9,970 to 10,970, and its stages follow the older 70:30 merit rule. Do not mix up the two cycles while reading news updates.

Important Dates

Tentative dates come from RRB notices and can change. Track the official website of the RRB you applied to and your registered email and mobile number for updates.

RRB ALP Vacancy 2026

Vacancies are notified RRB-wise, and you compete only for the posts of the RRB you chose while applying. The category-wise split of the 11,127 notified posts is given below.

RRB-wise vacancies

Figures are as per the detailed notification and can change through corrigenda, including the proposed 3,500 additional posts. Because shortlisting is done RRB-wise, competition can differ sharply between boards with similar vacancy counts.

Eligibility Criteria

Educational qualification

Candidates must hold one of the following on or before the closing date of applications. Those awaiting results were not eligible.

• Class 10 plus ITI: Matriculation or SSLC with ITI from an NCVT or SCVT recognised institute in a notified trade such as Fitter, Electrician, Mechanic (Diesel), Mechanic (Motor Vehicle), Wireman, Turner, Machinist or Refrigeration and AC Mechanic.

• Class 10 plus Act Apprenticeship: Matriculation or SSLC with Course Completed Act Apprenticeship in the notified trades.

• Class 10 plus diploma: A three-year diploma in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics or Automobile Engineering, or a combination of these streams, in place of ITI.

• Engineering degree: A degree in the same disciplines is also accepted in place of a diploma.

Age limit

The age limit is 18 to 30 years as on 1 July 2026. Your date of birth must match your Class 10 certificate.

Ex-servicemen and some other groups get relaxation as per government rules listed in the notification. Read the full eligibility rules on our RRB ALP eligibility criteria page.

Medical standard

ALP posts require medical standard A-1, the strictest category in railway recruitment. It includes demanding vision tests, and spectacles are not permitted for meeting the distance-vision standard. Check the medical requirements in the notification before investing months of preparation.

Application Fee and How to Apply

Note that EWS candidates pay Rs. 500, not Rs. 250. Some pages list them in the lower fee group, which is not what the fee table says. The refund is paid only to candidates who actually appear in CBT 1, so keep the bank details you entered handy.

The CEN 01/2026 application window has closed. For reference, and for the next cycle, the process on rrbapply.gov.in runs in this order:

1. Create an account: Register once with your mobile number and email. Applicants who already have an account from earlier RRB notifications must use the same one.

2. Fill the form: Choose one RRB only, enter qualification details and pick your trade or discipline for CBT 2 Part B.

3. Upload documents: A recent photograph and signature in the prescribed size, plus SC or ST certificates where free travel is claimed.

4. Pay the fee: Online only, through net banking, cards or UPI.

5. Submit and save: Download a copy of the submitted form for later stages.

Multiple applications to different RRBs lead to disqualification. Details entered while creating the account cannot be changed later.

Exam Pattern

All questions are objective type. CBT 1 and CBT 2 carry a negative mark of one-third for each wrong answer, while CBAT has no negative marking.

CBT 1

CBT 1 is a screening test. Its marks are not counted in the final merit list.

CBT 2

CBAT (aptitude test)

CBAT is a set of test batteries that measure memory, attention, depth perception, following directions and perceptual speed. It is conducted in English and Hindi only. You must score a T-score of at least 42 in every battery, and the CBAT score carries 50% of final merit.

What this means for you:

• CBT 1 is about speed: 75 questions in 60 minutes gives you about 48 seconds per question, and a wrong guess costs one-third of a mark.

• CBAT is no longer a formality: With 50% weightage, a weak aptitude score can undo a strong CBT 2 Part A.

• Part B is a pass-or-fail gate: It adds nothing to merit, but missing 35% ends your attempt.

Older pages may still show General Awareness in CBT 1 or the old 70:30 merit split, so follow the CEN 01/2026 notification.Syllabus Summary

Topic lists, the trade mapping and a study sequence are covered in the RRB ALP syllabus 2026 guide.

Selection Process

1. CBT 1: Screening only. Candidates are shortlisted RRB-wise for CBT 2 at about 15 times the vacancies, based on normalised marks.

2. CBT 2: You must clear the Part A qualifying percentage and score at least 35% in Part B. Candidates are then shortlisted for CBAT at about 8 times the vacancies, based on Part A marks.

3. CBAT: You must reach a T-score of 42 in each battery. A vision certificate is required at this stage.

4. Final merit: 50% CBT 2 Part A plus 50% CBAT, prepared only from candidates who qualify CBAT.

5. Document Verification and Medical Examination: Selection is final only after your documents are verified and you pass the A-1 medical examination.

Salary and Career Growth

In-hand salary depends on the city of posting and the running allowance earned in a month, so it varies widely. Any single in-hand figure you see is an estimate, not an official number.

A typical career path moves from Assistant Loco Pilot to Loco Pilot (Shunting), then Loco Pilot (Goods), Loco Pilot (Passenger) and Loco Pilot (Mail/Express). Each step depends on service length, training and departmental assessments.

How to Prepare

With CBT 1 tentatively starting on 3 November 2026, candidates of this cycle have about four weeks for Stage 1. Plan in two blocks.

For CBT 1 (now to early November)

• Revise high-frequency topics first: Percentages, ratio, time and work, and simplification in Mathematics; series, coding-decoding and analogies in reasoning.

• Cover Class 10 science quickly: NCERT Physics, Chemistry and Biology chapters give you most of what is asked.

• Take a full-length test every other day: Practise the 60-minute limit and decide in advance how many questions you will attempt.

For CBT 2 and CBAT (after CBT 1)

• Start Basic Science and Engineering early: It is new for most candidates and makes up a large part of Part A.

• Revise your trade theory: Use the DGT syllabus of your trade and practise Part B questions until you clear 35% comfortably.

• Practise CBAT batteries regularly: Short daily sessions build the speed and accuracy that the 50% weightage now rewards.

For timed practice in the current pattern, you can attempt RRB ALP mock tests on Testkart and use the section-wise analysis to see where you lose marks. Pair them with RRB ALP previous year papers to understand the real difficulty level, and keep short revision notes from the RRB ALP study notes section for the last week.

Minimum Qualifying Marks and Cut-off

Qualifying marks only make you eligible to be considered. Actual cut-offs are set RRB-wise and category-wise, and they change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat previous cut-offs as a benchmark only and aim for a clear margin above them. Past RRB-wise figures are on our RRB ALP cut-off page. While practising, compare your mock scores on Testkart with these thresholds so you know how much margin you are building in each section.