Big decision of RRB: Station Master post excluded from NTPC graduate recruitment, now separate notification will come; Major changes in age limit and selection process

Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has implemented a shocking and major policy change for lakhs of graduate candidates preparing for government jobs in Indian Railways. Railways has excluded the most coveted and preferred posts ‘Station Master’ and Traffic Assistant from its Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) graduate level recruitment cycle. Under the recently released detailed advertisement (CEN 06/2026), where the application process has been started for 3,548 posts, only posts like Goods Train Manager, Chief Commercial cum Ticket Supervisor, Senior Clerk and Junior Accounts Assistant have been included. According to the new guidelines of the Railway Board, recruitment for the post of Station Master will no longer be done through the combined NTPC examination but an independent and dedicated Central Employment Notification (Separate CEN Notification) will be issued separately for it. This decision has changed the strategy of thousands of candidates who for years were dreaming of becoming Station Master on the basis of NTPC’s Combined Syllabus.

Along with separating the post of Station Master, the Railway Ministry has also made stringent amendments in its eligibility criteria:

• New Age Limit (20 to 30 years): Earlier the age limit for this post was 18 to 30 years, which has now been changed to minimum 20 years and maximum 30 years. This means that now the youth who complete graduation at the age of 18 or 19 years will become directly ineligible for this recruitment.

• Exemption to reserved categories: In the upper age limit, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Ex-Servicemen will continue to get relaxation of 3 to 5 years under the existing reservation rules of the Central Government.

• Educational qualification: It will be mandatory to have Graduation Degree in any faculty from any recognized university.

To become a Station Master under NTPC, earlier candidates had to go through a long and complex two-stage written examination process (CBT-1 and then CBT-2). The selection process has been streamlined and faster to a great extent after the implementation of the new rules:

1. Single Stage Computer Based Test (Single CBT): Now there will be no separate written examinations, preliminary and main. Only one written Computer Based Test (CBT) will be conducted.

2. Reading comprehension got place: The new exam syllabus has officially included traditional subjects (Maths, Reasoning, General Awareness) as well as Comprehension (Language Proficiency).

3. Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT): On the basis of merit in the written examination, candidates will be shortlisted for Psycho/Aptitude Test in the ratio of 1:8 against vacancies. It will be mandatory to qualify this psycho test.

4. Final Merit Formula: While preparing the final selection list, 70% weightage will be given to the written CBT examination marks and 30% weightage will be given to the Aptitude Test (CBAT) marks. After this, Document Verification (DV) and strict medical test (A-2 Medical Standard) will have to be completed.

According to Railway Board sources and administrative experts, the post of Station Master is not just an administrative desk job, but it is a hyper-sensitive safety category post related to the safe and timely operation of trains. In the old combined examination system of NTPC, it took a long time of one and a half to two years to complete the recruitment, due to which the posts of station masters at the zonal level remained vacant for a long time. Introduction of separate single CBT based recruitment will help Railways to select operationally efficient and mentally alert candidates in a very short time and immediately send them for training. Besides, this will also provide relief from complex merit disputes between General Administrative Clerks and Station Superintendents in NTPC recruitment.

According to the latest indications released by the Railway Recruitment Board, there is a strong possibility that the official advertisement (Short Notice & CEN) of Station Master Recruitment will be released in the third fortnight of this month, under which more than 500 vacancies can be announced. Selected candidates will get a starting basic pay of ₹ 35,400 under Pay Matrix Level-6. Apart from this, including Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), Running Allowance and Night Duty Allowance, the starting in-hand salary reaches beyond ₹ 55,000 to ₹ 65,000 per month. The Board has advised candidates to regularly keep an eye on the official regional RRB websites and start their preparation as per the new Single-CBT and Aptitude Pattern.