What is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone talks about the railway jobs? For me, it’s definitely ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot)! ALP is a person who drives the train and also looks after the fine-tuning of the Loco and fixing minor repairs too.
Indian Railways is one of the major employment sectors in India. Every year, it conducts exams for various posts in multiple departments like engineering, operations, personnel, etc. Railway ALP Exam is one of the biggest sought exams. In 2018, Railway Recruitment Board or RRB is recruiting ALP and Technicians to fill up to 26,502 vacancies.
Every year, RRB ALP exams are conducted in the month of June/July. This year. ALP exams would be conducted in the month of August. Those who aspire to work as a Railway ALP, it’s understood to walk-through the job profile, exam pattern and prepare for the exam.
RRB ALP – Job Profile
The Job Responsibilities of Assistant Loco Pilot are as follows:
- Fine tuning the locomotive.
- Calling out signal once sighted.
- Attending to minor repairs of the locomotive.
- Regularly checking the efficiency of the locomotive.
RRB ALP Exam Pattern
RRB Exam is conducted in the below four stages:
- First stage CBT (Computer Based Test)
- Second stage CBT (Computer Based Test)
- Computer-Based Aptitude Test (only for ALP)
- Document Verification
- First Stage CBT Exam Pattern:
| Subject | No of Qs | Duration |
| Maths | 75 | 60 Mins |
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | ||
| General Science | ||
| General Awareness on Current Affairs |
- Second Stage CBT Exam Pattern:
The Second Stage CBT shall have two parts viz Part A and Part B:
Part A consists of Maths, General Intelligence, and Reasoning, General Awareness. Each paper has 100 questions and the exam duration is 90 mins.
Part B has Relevant Trade. This paper has 75 questions and the exam duration is 1 hour.
| Part | Subjects | No of Qs | Duration |
| Part A | Maths | 100 | 90 Mins |
| General Intelligence & reasoning | |||
| Basic Science & Engineering | |||
| General Awareness on Current Affairs | |||
| Part B | Relevant Trade | 75 | 60 Mins |
| Total | 175 | 2 Hours 30 Mins |
It’s important to note that there is 1/3rd negative marking for incorrect answers in First Stage CBT and Second stage CBT.
The candidate needs to secure a minimum score of 42 marks in each of the tests to qualify.
If the candidate is applying for Technicians then you will be directly called for Document Verification after both the stages of CBT.
- Computer-Based Aptitude Test (Only for candidates who have opted for ALP)
Qualifying marks:
The candidate needs to secure a minimum score of 42 marks in each of the test batteries to qualify.
- Document Verification
A candidate shall be called for Document Verification only if he/she qualifies for First and Second Stage CBT.
Tips:
- Dear aspirants, kick-off your preparation as soon as possible. Practice full mock tests and analyze your results.
- Solve previous year question papers.
- Learn some shortcut methods for maths or reasoning and implement them.
- Never ignore the General Awareness / General Knowledge questions. Keep yourself updated with the latest happenings around you by downloading India’s No. 1 Current Affairs app.
- The competitive nature of exams surely causes more stress, which in-takes a toll on one’s confidence. So, it’s important to be focused consistently and be confident before appearing for the exams.
Wishing you all the success for the upcoming exam.
Author Bio:
Mithila Kotibhaskar is a Digital Marketing Executive working at Testbook.com. Though a Computer Engineer by qualification, her passion flows through various Digital Marketing verticals – Content Writing, SEO, and Google Adwords, to name a few. Being always curious to learn new things, she tries to chase perfection in everything she attempts. Creating singing videos on YouTube channel and playing musical instruments like harmonium and musical keyboard is her favorite hobby. Being a health freak, she is addicted to Zumba classes.
