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Railway Exam Pattern


This section helps candidates to gather complete knowledge of Railway Exam (syllabus) pattern which will be helpful in preparing various exam pattern like Group A,B,C and D.

Group A

Recruitment for Group A category is conducted by Civil Services Exam and Combined Engineering Service Exam for various requirements every year. Group A for civil services exam includes:

  • Indian Railway Traffic Service
  • Indian Railway Accounts Service
  • Indian Railway Personnel Service
  • Railway Protection Force

UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted in two stages, Prelims and Mains, which are then followed by an interview. For more details, candidates can visit www.civilserviceindia.com

The Combined Engineering Services Exam leads to the recruitment of officers into the followed services.

  • Indian Railway Service of Engineers
  • Indian Railway Stores Service
  • Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers
  • Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers
  • Railway service of Signal Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers can be recruited through UPSC Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination. www.coachingindians.com/upsc-exam/ies-exam

Group B

Group 'B' is filled by promotion on the basis of selection of eligible candidates from Group C. The selection procedure is done through General Manager who heads the Selection Board consists of 4 HoDs including CPO and HoD of the department concerned. Almost 70% of the vacancies are filled through seniority and the rest are selected through a test named as Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE).

Important features of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) are

  • Reservation of SC/ST as per extant orders.
  • Group C employees in Pay Band 2 (9300-34800) with GP 4200 and above with a minimum of 5 years in the grade including other services.
  • Standard of the written exam of a substantially higher than normal procedural selection.
  • 60 per cent is the minimum pass mark.
  • Names of the candidates will be listed out in the order of merit.
  • Selection is based on the total marks secured by the candidates who had appeared for viva-voce after getting qualified in the written examination.

Group C & D

Group 'C' and ‘D’ including technical and non-technical will be filled through exams. It includes General Awareness, Aptitude, Reasoning and General Intelligence. For Grade C Technical Exam Pattern, time duration is 120 minutes and a total of 150 multiple choice questions will be asked. For Grade C Non-Technical Exam, time duration is 90 minutes and a total of 100-120 questions will be asked.

General Awareness Test includes, Indian History, Politics, Geography, Arts and Culture. General Science includes Physics, Chemistry, Defence, Agriculture, Space, Environment, Biology and Agriculture. Current Affairs includes Economy, Banking, Awards, Sports, International Affairs and Current Events.

Aptitude Test includes, Dynamics, Statistics, Primary Mathematics, Analytical Geometry, Calculus, Statics, Real Analysis, Numbers, Fundamental arithmetical operations, Number Systems, Computation of Whole Numbers, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion, Averages, Interest, Profit and Loss.

Reasoning Test includes Number Series, Letter and Symbol Series, Verbal Classification, Essential Part, Analogies, Artificial Language, Matching Definitions, Making Judgments, Verbal Reasoning, Logical Problems, Logical Games, Blood Relations, Analyzing Arguments, Statement and Assumption, Statement and Argument, Logical Deduction.

General Intelligence test includes, Arithmetical Reasoning, Similarities and Differences, Arithmetic Number Series, Spatial Orientation, Analogies, Non-verbal series, Figures Classification, Discrimination, Coding and Decoding.

Applicants will have to solve questions within the stipulated time. In order to qualify this exam, candidates must score minimum marks. But deductions will be done for any wrong answer.