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RRB Group D (Level 1)

Evidence status: 🟢 official. Every number below is from CEN No. 09/2025 (Level-1 posts of the 7th CPC pay matrix), Corrigendum No. 5, and the revised CBT schedule notice, fetched from rrbsecunderabad.gov.in on 2026-09-28.

RRB Group D (Level 1) recruits Track Maintainer-IV, Pointsman-B and Assistant posts (electrical, S&T, track machine, bridge, carriage and wagon, loco shed, P.Way and others) across Indian Railways. It is Class 10/ITI level and is usually the single largest recruitment exam in the country.

At a glance
Conducted by Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) on behalf of Railway Recruitment Cells (RRCs)
Current cycle CEN No. 09/2025 — Level-1 posts, initial pay ₹18,000; applications 31.01.2026–09.03.2026 (extended); CBT held 3–25 Aug 2026; PET and document verification follow
Qualification 10th pass or ITI or equivalent or National Apprenticeship Certificate (NCVT); post-wise details in Annexure-A of the CEN
Age 18–33 years as on 01.01.2026 (relaxations for reserved categories per the CEN)
Stages Single-stage CBT → Physical Efficiency Test (3× vacancies, qualifying) → document verification (1:1) → medical examination
Minimum CBT marks 40% (UR/EWS), 30% (OBC-NCL/SC/ST); relaxable by 2 marks for PwBD against reserved vacancies

Official sources

Exam pattern

CBT: 100 questions, 100 marks (1 mark each), 90 minutes (120 minutes for scribe-eligible candidates), −1/3 per wrong answer. The section split below is indicative and may vary slightly in the actual paper.

Section Questions
General Intelligence and Reasoning 30
Mathematics 25
General Science 25
General Awareness and Current Affairs 20

Shortlisting for PET is 3× the community-wise vacancies on CBT merit (with normalisation across shifts); shortlisting for document verification is 1:1 on CBT merit plus PET qualification. The Railway reserves the right to hold the CBT in single or multi-stage mode.

Physical Efficiency Test (qualifying): men must lift and carry 35 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes and run 1,000 metres in 4 minutes 15 seconds; women must lift and carry 20 kg for 100 metres in 2 minutes and run 1,000 metres in 5 minutes 40 seconds — each in one chance. The weight-carrying test comes first and eliminates. PwBD candidates, ex-servicemen and Course Completed Act Apprentices are exempt from PET.

Syllabus

Class 10 level, per the CEN (topics illustrative, not exhaustive): NCERT physics, chemistry and life science; arithmetic and elementary maths (number system, BODMAS, decimals, fractions, LCM/HCF, ratio and proportion, percentages, mensuration, time and work, time and distance, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, elementary statistics, square roots, age calculations, calendar and clock, pipes and cisterns); verbal and non-verbal reasoning (analogies, series, coding-decoding, syllogism, Venn diagrams, data interpretation and sufficiency, directions, statement-arguments and assumptions); current affairs and static GK (science and technology, sports, culture, personalities, economics, politics).

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. General Science is a quarter of the paper and comes almost entirely from NCERT Class 6–10. Read those books first.
  2. Start physical training at the same time as the written preparation.
  3. Practise full papers at 90 minutes. The −1/3 penalty makes blind guessing costly.

Free resources