Exam Pattern

If you're prepping for RRB JE, the exam pattern is where you start — not the syllabus.

RRB JE recruitment runs through two computer-based tests, CBT 1 and CBT 2, followed by document verification and a medical exam.

CBT 1 screens candidates.CBT 2 determines the final merit after CBT 1 shortlists candidates.

Here's a quick snapshot before the full breakdown:

Stage	Questions	Marks	Duration	Counts Toward Merit?
CBT 1	100	100	90 minutes	No
CBT 2	150	150	120 minutes	Yes

Both stages are objective type, conducted online, with ⅓ mark negative marking for every wrong answer. No penalty for questions you leave unattempted.

The sections below cover CBT 1 and CBT 2 in detail — question-wise breakdown, marking scheme, qualifying percentage, and how the two stages differ from each other.

RRB JE Selection Process: Where the Exam Pattern Fits In

RRB JE recruitment happens in four stages — CBT 1, CBT 2, document verification, and a medical exam.

Only two of these actually decide your rank:

• CBT 1 — screens candidates, doesn't count toward merit
• CBT 2 — this is the one that matters, your final selection rides on it

Document verification and the medical exam come after, and they're qualifying in nature — you either clear them or you don't, there's no scoring involved.

Both CBTs are computer-based and fully objective. 

No subjective or descriptive questions anywhere in the RRB JE exam pattern, so that's one less thing to plan around.

RRB JE CBT 1 Exam Pattern: Questions, Marks & Duration

CBT 1 is common to every candidate, whatever branch — Civil, Mechanical, Electrical — you've applied under. It's not testing your engineering knowledge yet. Just general aptitude.

Section	Questions	Marks
Mathematics	30	30
General Intelligence & Reasoning	25	25
General Awareness	15	15
General Science	30	30
Total	100	100

Quick facts:

• Duration: 90 minutes
• Mode: Online, objective type
• Merit impact: None — CBT 1 marks aren't added to your final score, they only decide who advances

Roughly 15 times the notified vacancies (community-wise) get shortlisted for CBT 2 based on CBT 1 rank.

RRB JE CBT 2 Exam Pattern: Questions, Marks & Duration

This is where the RRB JE exam pattern actually starts reflecting your engineering branch. CBT 2 is longer, heavier, and includes a full Technical Abilities section.

Section	Questions	Marks
General Awareness	15	15
Physics & Chemistry	15	15
Basics of Computers & Applications	10	10
Basics of Environment & Pollution Control	10	10
Technical Abilities	100	100
Total	150	150

Quick facts:

• Duration: 120 minutes
• Mode: Online, objective type
• On-screen calculator: Provided during the exam
• Merit impact: Full — this is what your final rank is based on

The Technical Abilities section changes depending on your discipline — Mechanical and Allied, Electrical and Allied, Electronics and Allied, or Civil and Allied. 

What's actually asked topic-wise under each of these sits on the RRB JE Syllabus page, not here — this page is only about how the paper is structured.

RRB JE Negative Marking and Marking Scheme 2026

One rule, applies to both stages, easy to remember:

• 1 mark per correct answer
• ⅓ mark (0.33) deducted per wrong answer
• Zero penalty for questions left unattempted

Because it's a third-mark deduction and not a full mark, an educated guess isn't as costly here as in some other government exams.

Still, guessing blindly on questions you have zero idea about isn't really worth the risk — 

the ⅓ adds up faster than people expect once you're guessing on 15-20 questions.

RRB JE Minimum Qualifying Marks: Category-Wise

Every candidate needs to clear a minimum percentage at each CBT stage to stay in the running.

Category	Minimum Qualifying %
UR	40%
OBC	30%
SC	30%
ST	25%

PwBD candidates get up to 2% relaxation on these, and only if there's a shortfall of eligible candidates against reserved seats.

Worth double-checking these numbers against the current official notification before you build a prep timeline around them —

 categories and relaxation clauses do shift between recruitment cycles, and working off an old PDF is a common mistake.

RRB JE CBT 1 vs CBT 2: Key Differences

Aspect	CBT 1	CBT 2
Questions	100	150
Duration	90 minutes	120 minutes
Nature	General screening	General + branch-specific technical
Counts toward merit	No	Yes
Technical section	No	Yes

CBT 1's job is to thin out the applicant pool. CBT 2 is where selection actually happens. 

That difference matters more than it sounds — 

it's the reason a lot of aspirants end up putting in too much time on CBT 1-level topics and not enough on Technical Abilities, which is really where CBT 2 is won or lost.

How to actually divide your prep time between the two, though — 

that's a strategy question, and it's covered separately on the RRB JE Preparation page from Engineers Academy's Nimbus Learning.

RRB JE Exam Pattern FAQs

Is there negative marking in RRB JE CBT 1 and CBT 2? 

Yes — ⅓ mark deducted per wrong answer in both stages. No penalty for unattempted questions.

Do RRB JE CBT 1 marks count toward the final merit list? 

No. CBT 1 only shortlists candidates for CBT 2. Final merit comes entirely from CBT 2 marks.

How many questions are in RRB JE CBT 2? 

150 questions, 150 marks, 120 minutes.

Does RRB JE CBT 1 have technical questions? 

No. CBT 1 covers Mathematics, Reasoning, General Awareness, and General Science only. Technical Abilities appears only in CBT 2.

What's the minimum qualifying percentage for RRB JE? 

40% for UR, 30% for OBC/SC, 25% for ST — with up to 2% relaxation for PwBD candidates where applicable.