Your NTPC post preference changes what comes after CBT 2. A Station Master candidate follows an aptitude-test route. A Senior Clerk cum Typist candidate needs the typing test. Preparing only for the two CBTs leaves that distinction unresolved.
This guide covers NTPC Graduate CEN 06/2025, checked on 20 September 2026. Undergraduate NTPC has its own notice; do not transfer every graduate-post rule to it.
The two CBTs
CBT 1 has 100 questions in 90 minutes: the indicative split is 40 General Awareness, 30 Mathematics, and 30 General Intelligence and Reasoning. CBT 2 has 120 questions in 90 minutes, split 50, 35, and 35 across those areas. Eligible scribe users have the notified additional time. Both papers deduct one-third mark for a wrong answer. See paragraphs 13.1–13.2 of the official CEN 06/2025.
CBT 2 requires more questions within the same ordinary duration. Practise that change explicitly. A comfortable pace in a 100-question mock does not establish that you can manage the second-stage paper.
Map your posts before choosing practice
Under this notice, Station Master and Traffic Assistant require CBAT. Senior Clerk cum Typist and Junior Accounts Assistant cum Typist require CBTST. Goods Train Manager and Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor do not have those skill tests. Document verification and the prescribed medical examination still apply. The post-wise table is in paragraph 13.5 of the official notice.
Typing is qualifying, with 30 words per minute in English or 25 in Hindi. CBAT requires a T-score of 42 in each battery; the relevant merit calculation uses 70% CBT 2 and 30% CBAT. These conditions appear in paragraphs 13.3–13.4 of the same notice.
Write your chosen posts on one page and mark the additional test beside each. Keep that page beside your weekly timetable. If your preferences span both routes, give each route a small regular slot before results arrive.
For typing, use an actual keyboard and the language you selected. Phone typing speed tells you very little about this task. Review accuracy and recurring mistakes, then repeat a comparable passage after a few days. A practice session with autocorrect enabled hides the errors you need to see.
For aptitude, use the official familiarisation material linked through the RRB notice. Read the instructions before attempting the test; a quick response to the wrong rule is still wrong. Keep aptitude practice distinct from general reasoning mocks because the task formats and qualifying conditions differ.
Review the whole mock, including missed time
After a CBT mock, identify questions you could answer correctly but never reached. That is a pacing problem. Compare it with questions you attempted quickly and got wrong; that could indicate weak knowledge or careless reading.
Try one change at a time. For example, set an earlier point for leaving a lengthy calculation, then compare the next mock's completion and accuracy. Changing your entire strategy after every score makes it difficult to learn what helped.
Our 90-day NTPC preparation plan can help organise revision once you have identified these gaps.
Dates and results: use the correct CEN
CEN 06/2025 is a recruitment-cycle identifier, even when a stage takes place in 2026. Check the CEN, board, post, and stage together when opening a result. A CBT 1 shortlist is not a final panel, and an answer-key window is not a result announcement.
For current schedules and results, use the unified official RRB portal and select your board. The 18 August 2026 migration notice explains why old regional pages should not be your only source for new updates. This article does not predict the next result date.
More railway preparation is on the Railways page, with other selection routes in the exam guides directory.