Railway Recruitment Board has started work on the 2026 Level-1 hiring cycle, and candidates waiting for Group D vacancies have a reason to keep their documents ready. About 30,000 posts are expected in the new round, with a short notice likely around Diwali and the detailed advertisement following a few days later.
Short Notice First, Full Advertisement After Diwali
The board has asked every zonal railway and production unit for details of its vacant posts, and the final count will be fixed after that data is reviewed. The target is to finish the online application window between November and December. Officials want the process to begin before December so that the annual recruitment calendar does not slip.
Posts On Offer And The New Single Website
The vacancies cover Track Maintainer-IV, Pointsman-B, Assistant Signal and Telecom, Assistant Carriage and Wagon, Assistant Loco Shed for diesel and electrical, Assistant P-Way, Assistant Track Machine and Assistant Bridge.
The board has also merged all of its regional websites into one portal at rrb.indianrailways.gov.in. Every notice and update from now on will be published only there. The notice repeats a warning to candidates about middlemen, brokers and job racketeers, and asks them to trust nothing that does not come from the official site.
Exam Pattern, Selection And Last Year’s Numbers
The computer based test is a single stage of 90 minutes with 100 questions. General science and mathematics carry 25 questions each, general intelligence and reasoning carries 30, and general awareness and current affairs carries 20. A third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer. To qualify, unreserved and EWS candidates need 40 percent, while OBC in the non-creamy layer, SC and ST candidates need 30 percent.
Candidates who clear the CBT are called for the Physical Efficiency Test, followed by document verification and a medical examination.
In the 2025 cycle, 22,195 Group D posts drew 53 lakh applications and the CBT was held across 16 days in August, a reminder of how deep the competition runs for these Level-1 jobs.
