RRB ALP | 2024
RRB ALP CBT 1 2024: topic weightage and difficulty analysis
75 questions across 4 sections. Overall difficulty: easy.
RRB ALP CBT 1 runs over many days and shifts, with a different paper in each and normalisation applied across them. The structure below is from the official notification and is the same in every shift: 75 questions for 75 marks in a composite 60 minutes, one third of a mark deducted per wrong answer, and CBT 1 is qualifying only. The topic counts below are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, and no question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
Where the questions came from
Sorted by weightage, so the topics worth the most preparation time are at the top of each section.
Mathematics
Mathematics
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 14 to 17 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic: percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss The core scoring block; secure it before the geometry and trigonometry questions. | 30%6 Moderate | |
| Time, work, speed and distance Train-based speed and distance questions appear more often here than in banking papers, for obvious reasons. | 20%4 Moderate | |
| Number system, LCM, HCF and simplification | 15%3 Easy | |
| Simple and compound interest | 10%2 Easy | |
| Mensuration | 10%2 Moderate | |
| Algebra, geometry and trigonometry Class ten level; basic identities and simple geometry recur. | 10%2 Moderate | |
| Data interpretation | 5%1 Easy |
Mental Ability and Reasoning
General Intelligence & Reasoning
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 20 to 23 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Analogies and classification The largest and most scoring block; almost pure speed. | 20%5 Easy | |
| Series: number and alphabet | 16%4 Easy | |
| Mathematical operations and syllogism | 16%4 Easy | |
| Coding and decoding | 12%3 Easy | |
| Blood relations and directions | 12%3 Easy | |
| Venn diagrams and data sufficiency | 12%3 Moderate | |
| Puzzles and miscellaneous Simpler than a banking puzzle; two or three variables at most. | 12%3 Moderate |
General Science
General Science
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 13 to 16 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Physics Motion, force, work, energy, light and electricity at roughly class ten level. | 35%7 Moderate | |
| Chemistry Often the most direct to revise: reactions, acids and bases, metals and everyday chemistry. | 35%7 Moderate | |
| Biology Human body, nutrition, diseases and basic life processes. | 30%6 Moderate |
General Awareness on Current Affairs
Current Affairs
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 6 to 8 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Current affairs: awards, sports, appointments and schemes Roughly the previous six to twelve months, with railway news recurring. | 50%5 Moderate | |
| Static general knowledge and polity | 30%3 Moderate | |
| Economy and miscellaneous | 20%2 Moderate |
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What this means for your preparation
CBT 1 is purely a screening test. Its marks do not count towards the final merit, which is decided by CBT 2, the Computer Based Aptitude Test where applicable, and document verification. The goal here is to qualify at a good multiple of the vacancies.
General Science alone is 20 of the 75 marks, and drawn from class ten syllabus. For most candidates it is the highest return on study time in the paper, and it is what separates the railways paper from a banking one.
There is no sectional timing. The full 60 minutes can be spent wherever it earns most, so bank the fast reasoning marks first and give the remaining time to mathematics and science.
The penalty is one third of a mark, gentler than the banking quarter in proportion to the single mark a question carries. After eliminating two options, a guess is worth taking.
Minimum qualifying marks vary by category (40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC and SC, 25% for ST), so the bar to clear is a percentage, not a fixed score.
Marks are normalised across shifts, so the raw score is not the final score, and the paper is offered in several languages, so choose the medium you read fastest in.
See the real paper, officially
- RRB centralised application portal
Your question paper, recorded responses and the provisional answer key are published here after each stage, along with the objection window, which carries a small per-question fee refunded if the objection is upheld.
- Indian Railways official website
Links to every regional RRB, useful for finding your board's site, where region-wise notices and results are also posted.
Common questions
- Can I download the RRB ALP Computer Based Test 1 2024 question paper?
- Not from this site. In India an exam question paper is a copyright work owned by the conducting body, and reproducing it commercially is infringement. What you can do is view your own paper and responses through the official portal during the objection window after the exam, and the links to do that are on this page.
- Are these topic counts exact?
- No, and we would rather say so. The exam runs across multiple shifts with a different paper in each, and the conducting body does not publish a topic-wise breakdown. The section structure, marks and timing are official. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports and describe the typical shape of the paper.
- How should I use a weightage analysis?
- To decide what to study next and what to skip. If one block is a third of a section, practising it has several times the payoff of a topic that carries two questions. It also tells you which questions to leave in the exam itself, which matters more than most candidates think.