Follow the RRB Route

Gauri Chhabra

If there is one sector that would always be having a high growth trajectory, it is Railways. Your entry and journey into this coveted sector would always be an escalating one. The recent focus on developing railway stations on a priority basis has brought the entire sector into a different league altogether.

There are a number of routes to gain entry into the Indian Railways.

 Eligibility

 You can get into Indian railway services in two cadres – technical and non-technical. These are then further divided into groups A, B, C and D.

 Group A and group B are the official cadre posts. The medical staff, engineering staff, and other top end officers come under these. The exams for group A are conducted by the Union Service Public Commission, UPSC.

However, there is a Special Class Railway Apprenticeship Examination (SCRA) that is conducted separately if you are interested to get into railway services right after Higher Secondary.

●        Group C is the subordinate staff positions like supervisors, clerks, and skilled labour. Group D consists of unskilled labour. The exams for group C and group D are conducted by the Railway Recruitment Control Board. The eligibility criteria set for these exams by the RRB may vary, but some common factors remain:

1.       Nationality: A candidate should be a citizen of India or a subject of Nepal and Bhutan. A Tibetan refugee who settled in India before 1962 is also eligible.

2.       Age Limit: The minimum age of application is 18 years while the maximum is 33 years.

3.       Educational Qualification: Candidates should have passed Class XII and must possess a legitimate college degree. For select posts, you need to be of Science stream

The main exams conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board, RRB are:

1)  RRB (Assistant Loco Pilot) ALP

The basic educational requirement and age limit for the RRB ALP exam is:

●        You should have passed matriculation and completed the Act Apprenticeship Industrial Training Institute approved by NCVT or SCVT in the respective trade.

●        If you have a diploma in Electrical /Electronics /Mechanical /Automobile Engineering recognised by the AICTE, you  are also eligible.

●        The lower age limit of RRB ALP exam is 18 years and the upper age limit is 28 years.

The exam consists of 3 stages

RRB ALP First Stage CBT

RRB ALP Second Stage CBT

RRB ALP CBAT, (4 for technician).

In the first two CBTs questions will be asked in MCQ format. The major topics covered in the exam would be from mathematics, General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Science, Basic Science and Engineering, General awareness & current affairs.

 Third stage is RRB ALP & Technician CBAT, where candidates are given five test batteries, and the candidates have to score at least 42 in each test battery.

2) RRB Junior Engineer JE

The RRB JE Exam is conducted to recruit science and engineering background candidates to fill in the various technical posts in the Indian Railways. The educational qualification depends upon the branch chosen:

●       Junior Engineer — Diploma/Degree in Engineering or relevant stream

●       Junior Engineer IT — PGDCA/B.Sc. (Computer Science)/ BCA/ B.Tech (IT)/ B.Tech (Computer Science)/ DOEACC B level course of 3 years duration or equivalent from recognized university/institute

●       DMS — Diploma/Degree in Engineering from any discipline

●       CMA — BSc in physics/chemistry with minimum 55% marks

The selection for Junior Engineers is done by the RRB on the basis of three stages. CBT 1, CBT 2 and Medical Fitness.

In CBT 1, questions from the mathematics section are framed around concepts like Number systems, BODMAS, Decimals, Fractions, LCM and HCF, etc. Whereas in the General Intelligence and Reasoning sections topics like Coding and Decoding, Mathematical operations, Relationships, Syllogism, etc are covered. Indian Geography, Economics, History, Polity, etc are asked in the General Awareness section.

The second CBT, of two-hour duration, consists of a total of five topics i.e. General Awareness, Physics & Chemistry, Computer application basics, basics of Environmental & Pollution, and Technical Abilities. But this test will focus mainly on Technical Abilities consisting of 100 questions out of 150.

3) RRB Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC):

The RRB NTPC Exam Pattern consists of the following stages:

1st Stage: RRB NTPC Preliminary Exam (1st Stage CBT)

2nd Stage: RRB NTPC Main Exam (2nd Stage CBT)

3rd Stage: Skill Test

a. Computer-Based Aptitude Test for Station Master and Traffic Assistant;

b. Typing Skill Test for Junior Clerk cum Typist, Junior Time Keeper, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Senior Clerk cum Typist, Junior Account Assistant cum Typist and Senior Time Keeper

4th Stage: Document Verification

5th Stage: Medical Examination

Qualifying for both tests CBT 1 and 2 is necessary to move on to the next stages of the RRB NTPC Exam. CBT 1 and 2 are MCQ-based exams, each of 90-minute duration, testing General Awareness, mathematics, General Intelligence and Reasoning.

For the General Intelligence and Reasoning section, the questions would be generally based on Coding and Decoding, Analytical Reasoning, Data Sufficiency, Decision Making, Puzzle, etc. For scoring well in General Awareness, you need to focus on both static and dynamic GK-based on current affairs, important dates, events, awards, geography, politics, etc.

Preparing for it is a long drawn, you need to be very regular in reading the newspaper and forming a perspective on certain news items. The mathematics section comprises questions on Number system, Fractions, Percentage, Time and Work, Simple and Compound Interest, etc.of XII and Graduation level.

The medical standards are:

For Commercial Apprentice, Enquiry – cum – Reservation Clerk, Junior Accounts Assistant; cum – Typist, Senior Clerk – cum Typist, Sr. Time Keeper: Physically fit in all respects    Distance Vision: 6/9, 6/9 without glasses. Near Vision: Sn: 0.6, 0.6 without glasses. Besides, you should pass  a test for Colour Vision, Binocular Vision, and Field Vision & Night Vision.

Traffic Apprentice, Goods Guard, Assistant Station Master (ASM), Traffic Assistant        Physically fit in all respects. The distance Vision should be 6/12, 6/18 with or without glasses. And near Vision: Sn: 0.6, 0.6, with or without glasses while reading.

RRB NTPC 2020 ( Notification)

Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) have announced RRB NTPC 2020 notification under Centralised Employment notice no. CEN 01/2019 Graduate/ Undergraduates) for the posts of Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC), i.e., Junior Clerk cum Typist, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Junior Time Keeper, Trains Clerk, Commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Traffic Assistant, Goods Guard, Senior Commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Senior Clerk cum Typist, Junior Account Assistant cum Typist, Senior Time Keeper, Commercial Apprentice and Station Master in various Zonal Railways and Production Units of Indian Railways for total 35208 Vacancies.

 4) RRB Group D:

RRB Group D exam is conducted by RRB to recruit eligible candidates for various posts like Helper/Assistant Pointsman, Track Maintainer Grade-IV, in Level 1 of 7th CPC Pay Matrix in various departments of Indian Railways.

Exam Pattern and stages of selection

The RRC Group D online exam consists of 100 questions from General Science (25 marks); General Awareness and Current Affairs (20 marks); General Arithmetic, General Intelligence & reasoning (30 Marks) and Mathematics (25 marks). The duration of the test will be 90 minutes with negative marking for incorrect answers with ⅓ marks deducted for each incorrect answer.

Based on the merit of the candidates in the CBT, candidates are called for RRC Group D Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) three times the community wise total vacancy of the Posts notified against RRBs/RRCs. Candidates qualified in RRC PET are called for Document Verification as per their merit and options.