RRB ALP Syllabus 2026: CBT 1, CBT 2, CBAT + PDF

The rrb alp syllabus for 2026 spans three qualifying-cum-merit stages — CBT 1, CBT 2 (Part A & Part B) and the Computer-Based Aptitude Test (CBAT / psycho test) — followed by Document Verification and a medical exam. In one line: CBT 1 tests Mathematics, General Intelligence & Reasoning, General Science and a small General Awareness slice; CBT 2 keeps those subjects, adds a heavily weighted Basic Science & Engineering section in Part A, and introduces a trade-specific qualifying Part B; and CBAT measures the aptitude needed to drive a train safely. This guide lays out the complete subject-wise, stage-wise syllabus with the exam pattern, marks, weightage, negative marking, a trade-wise Part B breakdown, a topic-priority map, a stage-wise study plan and how to build your own syllabus PDF.

Last reviewed: August 2026. The structure below reflects the pattern used in recent ALP cycles; final subject weightage is always fixed by the Centralised Employment Notice (CEN), so cross-check every table against the official CEN once RRB releases ALP 2026. Where a figure is under review, this guide says so instead of guessing.

RRB ALP 2026 at a Glance: Highlights Table

Before the detailed rrb alp syllabus 2026, here is a snapshot of the exam for Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) posts under the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), so you know exactly what you are preparing for.

RRB ALP Selection Process: All Stages Explained

A common People-Also-Ask query is: how many stages are there in RRB ALP selection? There are effectively four evaluation stages plus a medical check. Each stage is elimination-based — you must clear one to reach the next.

• Stage 1 — CBT 1: A screening test. Marks are used only to shortlist candidates for CBT 2 (they do not count in the final merit).
• Stage 2 — CBT 2: Has Part A (merit-deciding) and Part B (qualifying only). This is the most important written stage.
• Stage 3 — CBAT (Computer-Based Aptitude Test): The psycho test, mandatory for ALP. Combined with CBT 2 Part A on a 70:30 weightage for the final merit list.
• Stage 4 — Document Verification (DV): Certificate checking based on merit and vacancies.
• Medical Examination: ALP requires A-1 medical standard (sharp eyesight, colour vision), as the role involves driving trains.

RRB ALP Exam Pattern 2026 (CBT 1)

CBT 1 is the first hurdle. Understanding the rrb alp exam pattern 2026 for this stage helps you manage speed and accuracy — you get just 60 minutes for 75 questions.

Duration: 60 minutes (80 minutes for PwBD candidates with scribe). Negative marking: 1/3 mark per wrong answer. The qualifying percentages are UR/EWS 40%, OBC-NCL 30%, SC 30%, ST 25%. Note that CBT 1 is common with the RRB Technician recruitment in many cycles, so the difficulty is aligned to matriculation / ITI level.

Is RRB ALP CBT 1 the same paper as RRB Technician?

In several recent cycles CBT 1 has been held jointly for ALP and Technician Grade-I Signal aspirants, with the same four subjects and the same 75-question, 60-minute structure. The practical takeaway: ALP and Technician CBT-1 previous-year papers are interchangeable practice material, which roughly doubles your realistic mock bank. Your paths diverge only at CBT 2, where ALP has its own trade-based Part B and the CBAT stage.

Is General Awareness removed from RRB ALP CBT 1?

There has been confusion because past notifications carried a small General Awareness & Current Affairs component (10 questions) inside CBT 1, and some coaching resources treated it as scrapped. For 2026 preparation, treat the four heads above as the working structure while confirming against the official CEN when released. Even if the current-affairs weightage is trimmed, the core scoring subjects remain Mathematics, Reasoning and General Science — so invest the bulk of your CBT 1 hours there and keep current affairs as a light, high-return revision habit.

RRB ALP CBT 1 Syllabus (Subject-Wise Topics)

Here is the detailed rrb alp cbt 1 syllabus, topic by topic. Master these first — CBT 1 is your gate to everything else.

Mathematics (20 Questions)

• Number System, BODMAS, Decimals, Fractions
• LCM & HCF, Ratio and Proportion
• Percentages, Mensuration
• Time and Work, Time and Distance
• Simple & Compound Interest, Profit and Loss
• Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry
• Elementary Statistics, Square Root, Age Calculations
• Calendar & Clock, Pipes and Cistern

General Intelligence & Reasoning (25 Questions)

• Analogies, Alphabetical and Number Series
• Coding and Decoding, Mathematical Operations
• Relationships (Blood Relations), Syllogism
• Jumbling, Venn Diagram, Data Interpretation and Sufficiency
• Conclusions and Decision Making
• Similarities and Differences, Analytical Reasoning
• Classification, Directions, Statement–Argument & Assumption

General Science (20 Questions)

• Physics — motion, force, work, energy, light, electricity, magnetism (10th standard)
• Chemistry — matter, atoms, acids/bases, metals & non-metals
• Life Sciences (Biology) — cell, human body, nutrition, diseases

General Awareness & Current Affairs (10 Questions)

• Current events of national and international importance
• Sports, Awards, Books & Authors
• Indian polity, economy, geography and history basics
• General scientific and technological developments

For the current-affairs slice, a monthly compilation such as the Vision IAS Current Affairs Magazine (January 2026) keeps your GA revision compact and dated, so you are not scrolling through news feeds the night before the exam.

RRB ALP Exam Pattern 2026 (CBT 2)

Candidates who clear CBT 1 (typically shortlisted at around 15 times the vacancy) sit for CBT 2. This stage has two parts written back-to-back with a total of 175 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes.

Part A is merit-deciding and follows the same 1/3 negative marking. Part B is only qualifying — you need 35% to pass, and these marks do not add to your merit rank. The qualifying percentages for Part A mirror CBT 1 (UR 40%, OBC/SC 30%, ST 25%).

What is the difference between CBT 1 and CBT 2 in RRB ALP?

CBT 1 is a shorter screening test (75 questions, 60 minutes) used only to shortlist; its marks are discarded from the final merit. CBT 2 is longer (175 questions, 150 minutes), adds Basic Science & Engineering in Part A, introduces a trade-specific Part B, is harder, and its Part A score directly builds your merit alongside CBAT. In short: CBT 1 filters, CBT 2 ranks.

RRB ALP CBT 2 Part A Syllabus (Merit-Deciding)

The rrb alp cbt 2 syllabus for Part A covers four subjects. Three overlap with CBT 1 but at a slightly higher difficulty, and a fourth — Basic Science & Engineering — is new and heavily weighted.

Basic Science & Engineering — Topic List

This is the high-yield section that decides your Part A merit. It draws from Class 10 technical fundamentals:

• Engineering Drawing (Projections, Views, Drawing Instruments, Lines, Geometric Figures, Symbolic Representation)
• Units, Measurements, Mass, Weight and Density
• Work, Power and Energy; Speed and Velocity
• Heat and Temperature
• Basic Electricity — current, voltage, resistance, Ohm’s law
• Levers and Simple Machines
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Environment Education
• IT Literacy (basic computer knowledge)

RRB ALP CBT 2 Part B Syllabus (Trade-Wise)

Part B is qualifying (35%) and is based on the trade you studied in your ITI / Diploma / Degree, as per the Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGET) syllabus. Most guides only name the trades — below is a trade-wise topic breakdown, which is exactly what candidates search for and rarely find in one place.

Which trade subjects come in RRB ALP CBT 2 Part B?

Part B is trade-specific. If you hold an ITI in Electrician, Fitter, Instrument Mechanic, Wireman, Winder (Armature), Refrigeration & AC Mechanic, Electronics, Mechanic (Motor Vehicle), Mechanic Diesel, Heat Engine, Turner, Machinist, or a Diploma/Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Automobile or Electronics Engineering, you attempt the corresponding trade syllabus. Diploma/degree holders who did not do an ITI generally opt for the relevant engineering discipline’s paper.

Do CBT 2 Part B marks count in the final merit?

No. Part B is purely qualifying — you must score at least 35% to stay in the race, but the marks themselves are not added to your rank. Only CBT 2 Part A (70%) and CBAT (30%) build the merit list. The trap is treating Part B as easy just because it is qualifying: candidates with a strong Part A are eliminated every cycle for missing the 35% Part B cut-off, so give your trade paper genuine revision time.

RRB ALP CBAT (Psycho Test) Syllabus & Weightage

The Computer-Based Aptitude Test — the rrb alp cbat psycho test syllabus — is unique to ALP and is a make-or-break stage. Only candidates shortlisted after CBT 2 (usually 8 times the vacancies) are called. It has five test batteries and is administered in English and Hindi only.

Key CBAT rules: there is no negative marking; you must qualify each of the five batteries with a minimum T-score of 42; and there is no compensation between batteries. CBAT carries 30% weightage in the final merit while CBT 2 Part A carries 70% (some coaching material quotes a 70:30 CBT2-Part-A to CBAT split; always confirm the exact ratio in the official CEN).

What is CBAT in RRB ALP and how many marks are needed to qualify?

CBAT (Computer-Based Aptitude Test) is a psychometric test that checks whether you have the aptitude to drive a train safely — attention, reaction time and perceptual accuracy. You must score a minimum T-score of 42 in each of the five batteries to qualify; failing even one battery means elimination, regardless of your CBT 2 score. It cannot be prepared by rote — only by timed practice on aptitude test formats. There is also a valid-eyesight prerequisite: candidates must submit a vision certificate to appear for CBAT, since the batteries assume normal colour vision.

Old vs Revised RRB ALP Pattern: 2026 Changes Summarised

Candidates repeatedly ask what actually changed. Here is the clean comparison most top pages skip.

Always cross-check these against the latest Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) once RRB releases it, as boards occasionally revise weightage and normalisation rules.

How Normalisation & Negative Marking Affect Your Score

Two mechanics decide your effective score, and both are widely misunderstood.

Negative marking, worked out: each correct answer is +1 and each wrong answer is −1/3. So if you attempt 60 of 75 questions in CBT 1 and get 45 right and 15 wrong, your score is 45 − (15 × 0.33) = 45 − 5 = 40, not 45. This is why blind guessing quietly erodes a strong paper — three wrong guesses wipe out one genuine correct answer.

Normalisation: because CBT 1 and CBT 2 run in multiple shifts of varying difficulty, RRB normalises raw scores across shifts so that no candidate is advantaged or disadvantaged by an easier or harder slot. You cannot control normalisation — you can only maximise accuracy and attempts within your own shift. Do not compare your raw marks with a friend in another shift; the normalised score is what enters the merit list.

Topic-Wise Weightage & High-Yield Areas (Study-Planner Angle)

Generic topic dumps do not tell you where the marks actually are. Based on previous-year trends, here is an indicative weightage map to prioritise your revision — spend more time on high-return topics.

A quick way to validate this map is PYQ mapping: pull the last 3–4 years of ALP/Technician papers, tag every question to a topic above, and you will see arithmetic and reasoning consistently supply 40+ questions in CBT 1. A topic-wise PYQ approach — the same discipline used in the Forum IAS Topic-Wise PYQ Toolkit for civil-service aspirants — teaches you what examiners actually repeat, and you can apply the identical method to railway papers.

RRB ALP Preparation Strategy (Stage-Wise)

Now that the rrb alp syllabus is clear, here is how to convert it into a plan.

Phase 1 — CBT 1 Foundation (First 8 Weeks)

• Build arithmetic speed: 30 minutes of maths practice daily; learn shortcuts for percentages, ratios and interest.
• Do one reasoning topic per day; reasoning is the highest-scoring, least time-consuming section.
• Revise Class 9–10 NCERT Science for the General Science block.

Phase 2 — CBT 2 Depth (Next 6 Weeks)

• Add Basic Science & Engineering — the 40-question block that decides Part A merit.
• Revise your specific ITI/engineering trade for Part B (only 35% needed, but do not ignore it).

Phase 3 — CBAT Practice (Ongoing)

• Practise timed aptitude batteries weekly; accuracy under time pressure is trainable.
• Simulate the no-negative-marking, per-battery-cutoff format so nothing surprises you.

Phase 4 — Mock Tests & Revision (Final 4 Weeks)

• Take at least 2 full-length CBT mocks weekly; analyse every wrong answer.
• Maintain an error log and revise it before the exam.

Time-Management & Common Mistakes

With 75 questions in 60 minutes (CBT 1), you have under 48 seconds per question. Because of 1/3 negative marking, blind guessing hurts you. Follow these rules:

• Attempt reasoning and easy maths first to bank marks quickly.
• Skip a question if it takes more than 90 seconds; return later.
• Guess only when you can eliminate at least two options.
• Do not over-invest in current affairs at the cost of arithmetic and reasoning.
• For CBT 2, never treat Part B as an afterthought — failing 35% ends your candidature even with a strong Part A.

Recommended Books & Study Material (Subject-Wise)

Map your resources to each subject rather than buying random books.

If you are preparing alongside broader competitive exams and want a clean, exam-ready way to track any official syllabus, a compact syllabus booklet like the GS Score Latest Syllabus Booklet shows how a well-structured syllabus reference should look — the same tick-box discipline works for railway subjects too.

RRB ALP Syllabus PDF Download

You can compile a personal rrb alp syllabus pdf download in three steps: (1) copy the subject-wise CBT 1, CBT 2 Part A and Part B tables above into a document; (2) add the CBAT battery list and the topic-priority map; (3) export it as a one-page-per-stage revision sheet and print it. The most reliable source for the official, latest syllabus is the RRB regional websites (e.g., rrbcdg.gov.in and other regional RRB portals) once the Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) for ALP 2026 is published — download the CEN annexure and reconcile it against your personal sheet. Keep the printed checklist beside your desk and tick off each topic as you complete it; this single habit is what separates candidates who finish the syllabus from those who don’t.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the syllabus of RRB ALP CBT 1?

RRB ALP CBT 1 covers Mathematics, General Intelligence & Reasoning, General Science and a small General Awareness/Current Affairs component, across 75 questions worth 75 marks in 60 minutes. Maths and reasoning together carry the most weight, so prioritise arithmetic, series, coding-decoding and Class 10 science.

Is General Awareness removed from RRB ALP CBT 1?

Past notifications included a 10-question General Awareness & Current Affairs slice in CBT 1, and its exact weight has been a point of confusion. For 2026, keep current affairs as a light revision area while focusing on Maths, Reasoning and General Science, and confirm the final structure in the official CEN when RRB releases it.

How many stages are there in RRB ALP selection?

There are four evaluation stages plus a medical: CBT 1 (screening), CBT 2 with Part A and Part B, the CBAT psycho test, and Document Verification, followed by a mandatory A-1 standard medical examination. Each stage is elimination-based.

Is there negative marking in RRB ALP exam?

Yes. Both CBT 1 and CBT 2 deduct 1/3 mark for every wrong answer. The CBAT (psycho test) is the exception — it has no negative marking but requires a minimum T-score of 42 in each of its five batteries to qualify.

What is Part A and Part B in RRB ALP CBT 2?

In CBT 2, Part A has 100 questions (90 minutes) covering Maths, Reasoning, Basic Science & Engineering and General Awareness — this is merit-deciding. Part B has 75 questions (60 minutes) on your specific ITI/engineering trade and is only qualifying (35% needed); its marks do not count toward the final merit.

What is CBAT in RRB ALP and how many marks are needed to qualify?

CBAT is the Computer-Based Aptitude Test that measures your fitness to drive trains — attention, reaction time and perceptual accuracy across five batteries. You must score a minimum T-score of 42 in every battery to qualify, and it contributes 30% weightage to the final merit alongside CBT 2 Part A.

What is the difference between RRB ALP CBT 1 and CBT 2 syllabus?

CBT 1 and CBT 2 share Maths, Reasoning and General Awareness, but CBT 2 Part A adds a 40-question Basic Science & Engineering block and CBT 2 Part B adds a trade-specific paper — neither of which appears in CBT 1. CBT 1 is also easier and only screens, whereas CBT 2 Part A actually decides your merit.

Can I download the official RRB ALP syllabus PDF?

The single authoritative PDF is the Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) published on the regional RRB websites when ALP 2026 is notified; the syllabus is given in its annexure. Until then, build your own PDF from the stage-wise tables in this guide and reconcile it with the CEN annexure the day it is released.

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