RRB NTPC UG CBT 2 2026: Your 22-Day Prep Plan Before 17 September

RRB NTPC's Undergraduate CBT 1 result and zone-wise cutoffs landed on 24 August. That puts you 22 days out from CBT 2 on 17 September if you cleared it. Meanwhile the Graduate cycle is stuck somewhere completely different: its CBT 2 happened back on 10 July, and there's still no result. Two NTPC cycles, two very different waits right now. Here's what to do depending on which one you're in.

Don't Mix Up the Two Cycles

RRB NTPC 2025–26 runs as two entirely separate notifications, each with its own vacancy count, eligibility, and timeline. Confusing them is probably the single most common mistake candidates make when they check their status online.

Detail	Graduate (CEN 06/2025)	Undergraduate (CEN 07/2025)
Vacancies	5,810	3,058
Notification released	20 October 2025	27 October 2025
Application closed	27 November 2025	4 December 2025
Posts	Junior Clerk cum Typist, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Station Master	Commercial cum Ticket Clerk, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Junior Clerk cum Typist, Train Clerk
CBT 1	Completed, result declared earlier	Completed; result and cutoffs declared 24 August 2026
CBT 2	Held 10 July; result still pending	17 September

Combined, the two notifications add up to 8,868 vacancies, one of the larger non-technical hiring drives Indian Railways has run in recent years.

If You're in the UG Cycle: What the Cutoffs Mean

The zone-wise CBT 1 cutoffs released alongside the result vary by RRB region and category, but the broad pattern is consistent across zones:

Category	Typical cutoff range	Minimum qualifying marks
UR / EWS	65–75	40%
OBC	60–70	30%
SC	50–60	25%
ST	45–55	25%

These are indicative ranges. Actual cutoffs differ by your specific RRB zone, so check your own region's PDF on the official RRB website rather than assuming a national number. If you cleared CBT 1, your CBT 2 score is what actually counts from here: CBT 1 is a screening round only, and its marks don't carry forward into the final merit list.

CBT 2 Exam Pattern

Component	Details
Total marks / questions	120 marks, 120 questions
Duration	90 minutes (120 minutes for PwBD candidates with a scribe)
Sections	General Awareness (50 marks), Mathematics (35 marks), General Intelligence & Reasoning (35 marks)
Marking scheme	+1 per correct answer, −⅓ negative marking per wrong answer, no deduction for unattempted questions

General Awareness carrying 50 of 120 marks is heavier than in most other CBT-style exams, which makes current affairs and static GK revision the highest-leverage use of your remaining prep time rather than a side activity squeezed in after Math and Reasoning.

Your 22-Day Plan Before 17 September

Window	Focus
Days 1–7	Full syllabus sweep. Since General Awareness is worth nearly half the paper, start there: static GK (railways, geography, polity, history) plus the last 6 months of current affairs. Layer in one Math and one Reasoning topic per day alongside it.
Days 8–16	Timed sectional practice at CBT 2 difficulty, a step up from CBT 1. Given the ⅓ negative marking, drill accuracy over speed first. A wrong-answer habit costs you three questions' worth of correct-answer effort to recover from.
Days 17–22	Full-length CBT 2 mock tests under the real 90-minute limit, ideally 4–5 of them, followed by error-log review each time rather than moving straight to the next mock. Stop learning new topics by day 20 and use the last 2 days purely for revision and rest.

Don't Forget the Stage After CBT 2

CBT 2 is a scoring stage; its marks are added to the final merit list, unlike CBT 1. But for several posts it isn't the last written test: candidates applying for typing-based posts like Junior Clerk cum Typist or Accounts Clerk cum Typist must clear a Typing Skill Test after CBT 2, while Station Master aspirants face a Computer-Based Aptitude Test (CBAT). Both are qualifying stages. Check which one applies to the post you're targeting and start typing or aptitude practice now rather than after CBT 2 results land, since the gap between CBT 2 and these stages tends to be short.

If You're in the Graduate Cycle: What Happens Next

CEN 06/2025 candidates cleared CBT 2 back on 10 July, and the wait for a result has now stretched past six weeks with no official announcement. There's no action to take here beyond checking your zonal RRB website periodically. Once the result is out, shortlisted candidates move directly to Document Verification and Medical Examination, so keep your original certificates, category proof, and medical fitness paperwork ready rather than starting that prep only after the result appears.

For the parallel Railway hiring story this year, see our RRB Group D 2026 guide on what follows CBT for that recruitment, or browse all current openings on our Indian Railways jobs hub. For a broader roadmap across exams, our 2026 government job preparation guide covers general strategy.