The RRB Junior Engineer notification for 2026 is no longer a prediction. The Railway Recruitment Boards published Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 04/2026 on 13 August 2026 for Junior Engineer (JE) and Depot Material Superintendent (DMS) posts, later adding Chemical & Metallurgical Assistant (CMA). Applications have closed, and the first computer-based test is scheduled for late October 2026.
This guide summarises what the official notice and later RRB notices say, corrects several figures that circulate in older articles, and gives you a short checklist for the weeks before the exam.
Checked against CEN 04/2026, its Corrigendum-1 and RRB schedule notices on 9 October 2026. Follow updates only on the unified RRB website.
CEN 04/2026 at a glance
| Item | Official position |
|---|---|
| Posts | Junior Engineer, Depot Material Superintendent and (after Corrigendum-1) Chemical & Metallurgical Assistant |
| Vacancies (all RRBs) | 3,993 in the notice; 4,029 after Corrigendum-1 dated 18 August 2026 |
| Pay | Level 6 of the 7th CPC, initial pay ₹35,400 |
| Age | 18–33 years on 1 January 2027 |
| Applications | 14 August to 13 September 2026 (fee payment until 15 September; modification window 16–25 September) |
| CBT-1 | Revised tentative dates: 27 and 28 October 2026 (notice dated 2 October 2026) |
| Stages | CBT-1, CBT-2, document verification, medical examination |
The 2 October notice replaced an earlier schedule of 27, 28 and 30 October. RRB says the exam city intimation link goes live about 10 days before the exam and e-call letters about 4 days before, and that application status was available on rrbapply.gov.in from 7 October 2026.
Corrigendum-1 added 35 Chemical & Metallurgical Assistant posts and one JE (Electrical/TRS) post. If you see a different total on a coaching site, compare it with the corrigendum rather than assuming either figure is right.
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Age
The limit is 18 to 33 years on 1 January 2027. For UR and EWS candidates that means born not after 1 January 2009 and not earlier than 2 January 1994; the earliest birth dates for OBC (NCL) and SC/ST candidates are 2 January 1991 and 2 January 1989. PwBD candidates get 10, 13 or 15 years depending on category, and other relaxations are listed in the notice.
Older articles quote "18 to 28 years". That does not match this notice.
Qualifications
- Junior Engineer: a three-year diploma in the engineering discipline mapped to the post, or a combination of sub-streams of the basic stream. A B.E. or B.Tech in the same discipline is accepted in place of the diploma.
- Depot Material Superintendent: a three-year diploma in any engineering discipline.
- Chemical & Metallurgical Assistant: a B.Sc. with Physics and Chemistry and at least 45% marks (added by Corrigendum-1).
Your discipline decides your exam group for the technical part of CBT-2: Mechanical and Allied, Electrical and Allied, Electronics and Allied, or Civil and Allied. If you hold qualifications mapped to more than one group, the notice lets you choose one group, provided you opt for posts mapped to it.
Candidates awaiting final results were told not to apply. Many older guides say final-year students can apply; under this notice they could not.
The two computer-based tests
CBT-1 (screening)
| Section | Questions and marks |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | 30 |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 25 |
| General Awareness | 15 |
| General Science (up to 10th standard CBSE) | 30 |
| Total | 100 in 90 minutes |
CBT-1 is described as "of screening nature". Up to 15 times the community-wise vacancies are shortlisted for CBT-2 on normalised CBT-1 marks.
CBT-2
| Section | Questions and marks |
|---|---|
| General Awareness | 15 |
| Physics and Chemistry (up to 10th standard CBSE) | 15 |
| Basics of Computers and Applications | 10 |
| Basics of Environment and Pollution Control | 10 |
| Technical Abilities (your exam group) | 100 |
| Total | 150 in 120 minutes |
A virtual calculator is provided in CBT-2. Candidates eligible for a scribe get 120 minutes for CBT-1 and 160 minutes for CBT-2.
Both tests deduct one-third of a mark for each wrong answer. The minimum marks for eligibility are 40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC (NCL) and SC, and 25% for ST. Shortlisting for document verification is RRB-wise at 1:1 with the vacancies, based on normalised CBT-2 marks. There is no interview.
Worked example: CBT-2 scoring
Illustrative only. In CBT-2 you attempt 120 questions: 96 right and 24 wrong.
- Raw score: 96 − (24 × 1/3) = 96 − 8 = 88 out of 150.
- The 40% eligibility line is 0.40 × 150 = 60 marks; the 30% line is 45.
Clearing 60 keeps a UR candidate eligible, but with 1:1 shortlisting for verification, your rank within your RRB and category is what matters. Normalisation can also move your raw score up or down.
Fees and refunds
The fee was ₹500 for most candidates, with ₹400 refunded after appearing in CBT-1, minus bank charges. SC, ST, ex-servicemen, PwBD, female, transgender, minority and Economically Backward Class candidates paid ₹250, refunded in full after appearing in CBT-1. Refunds go only to a bank account seeded with the candidate's Aadhaar number, so check that link now if you have not.
What the previous cycle tells you about timing
The last JE notice, CEN 05/2025, is a useful guide to how long the process takes:
- Indicative notice in Employment News: 4 October 2025; applications opened 31 October 2025.
- CBT-1: 19, 20 and 25 February 2026.
- CBT-2: 2 July 2026.
- At RRB Chandigarh, CBT-2 results and the document verification list followed on 16 September 2026, with verification on 14–15 October 2026.
RRB recorded 5,74,402 applications (tentative) for that cycle. Against the 2,569 vacancies in the original notice, that is roughly 224 applications per vacancy, before the vacancy changes made by its corrigendum. Each RRB publishes its own results, so check the board you applied to.
Checklist for the weeks before CBT-1
Application status checked on rrbapply.gov.in (date):
Exam group I chose and its technical syllabus printed:
Exam city intimation downloaded (about 10 days before):
E-call letter downloaded (about 4 days before):
Aadhaar unlocked and details matching my 10th certificate:
Aadhaar-seeded bank account confirmed for the refund:
Two timed CBT-1 mocks with negative marking applied:
Date I last checked the RRB website:
For CBT-1, General Science and Mathematics together carry 60 of the 100 marks, so they deserve most of the remaining time. Once CBT-1 is over, shift to your exam group's technical syllabus, which carries 100 of CBT-2's 150 marks.
For more on reading RRB notices, see our railway recruitment routes guide, and use our current affairs hub for dated General Awareness notes.
Frequently asked questions
Is CEN 04/2026 still open for applications?
No. The application window closed on 13 September 2026 and the modification window on 25 September 2026.
Do CBT-1 marks count in the final selection?
CBT-1 is a screening test used to shortlist for CBT-2. Shortlisting for document verification is based on normalised CBT-2 marks.
Is there a single all-India merit list?
No. Shortlisting for verification is done RRB-wise, against the vacancies of the RRB you chose.