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RRB ALP Syllabus, Exam Pattern and Practice
Plan your RRB ALP preparation with subject checklists, pattern references, previous-year paper guidance and free practice questions with detailed solutions.
Reviewed 13 October 2026
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01 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Overview and selection
RRB Assistant Loco Pilot recruitment has CBT 1, CBT 2, a Computer Based Aptitude Test, document verification and a medical examination. Match your qualification, trade and medical eligibility to the notification before planning preparation. CBT 1 is a screening stage, not the final merit score.
The technical and medical requirements are integral to ALP selection. This is not an English-language or Banking General Awareness paper. Use CBT 1 foundations first, then allocate separate time to CBT 2 Part A and your prescribed trade.
Pattern reference: RRB ALP CEN 01/2026
02 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Exam pattern
CBT 1
Component
Questions / marks
Time
Combined paper
Questions / marks: 75 / 75
Time: 60 minutes
CBT 2
Component
Questions / marks
Time
Part A
Questions / marks: 100 questions
Time: 90 minutes
Part B
Questions / marks: 75 questions
Time: 60 minutes
CBT 1 and CBT 2 deduct one-third of a mark per wrong answer. Part B is qualifying at 35%; Part A is used for subsequent shortlisting subject to qualification in Part B. Read the current notice for CBAT qualifying requirements, merit calculation and medical standards.
03 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Detailed syllabus
The topic map below is preparation guidance, not guaranteed chapter weightage. Use the official syllabus and information handout as the complete authority for your post and cycle.
Mathematics and Numerical Ability
- Number foundations: Integers, fractions, decimals, simplification, percentages, ratio and averages.
- Applied arithmetic: Profit and discount, interest, work, distance and speed; practise quantities with their units.
- Measurement and data: Geometry, mensuration and interpreting tables or charts according to the exam syllabus.
Practice priority: Convert percentages and ratios accurately before timing a set. Keep separate notes for formula gaps, unit errors and unnecessary calculation. Retest missed problems after several days.
Reasoning and General Intelligence
- Verbal reasoning: Analogy, classification, series, coding, relationships, directions, order and logical conclusions.
- Visual reasoning: Spatial orientation, embedded figures, pattern completion, folding and visual comparison where specified.
Practice priority: Draw a diagram for relationships and directions. Identify a consistent rule before selecting a series answer. For a conclusion, ask whether it must follow from the information given.
Class 10 General Science
- Physics: Motion, force, energy, electricity and everyday scientific applications.
- Chemistry and life science: Materials, chemical changes, cells, organs and biological processes at the specified level.
Practice priority: Explain the mechanism and check units before calculating. Compare related concepts such as current and voltage or physical and chemical change.
CBT 2 Basic Science and Engineering
- Foundations: Units, measurements, work, power, energy and engineering drawing.
- Applied concepts: Heat, electricity, simple machines, safety and environmental awareness; use the official Part A checklist.
Practice priority: Draw and label the system before solving. Practise circuit quantities and unit conversions separately, then combine them in short technical sets.
CBT 2 Part B: chosen trade
- Trade mapping: Use the prescribed DGT trade syllabus corresponding to the qualification and option in your application.
- Coverage: Keep Part B revision separate from general aptitude. This guide does not reproduce every trade syllabus.
Practice priority: Make a checklist from the correct trade PDF. Technical examples for one branch cannot substitute for another trade.
CBAT preparation
- Aptitude stage: Read official aptitude-test guidance and the applicable qualifying rules.
- Practice: Focus on understanding instructions, attention and accuracy rather than memorising an unrelated MCQ set.
Practice priority: Do not treat the worked science questions below as a CBAT simulator.
04 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Previous-year paper resources
RRB question-paper, response and key access is usually announced through a dated candidate window. Check the relevant CEN and regional RRB notice; access may require credentials and can expire. No permanently open ALP PDF library is claimed here.
Review a paper: identify the year, post and stage; attempt it before reading solutions. Separate concept errors, calculation errors and guesses. A previous-year paper test should use an authentic paper or clearly identify that it is a reconstruction.
Official recruitment updates and paper-access notices
DGT trade syllabus resources
05 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Free subject-wise practice questions
Try 30 original RRB ALP subject-wise practice questions with worked solutions and common-error notes. These free questions need no registration. They are not official previous-year questions, a complete syllabus bank or a timed mock test series.
Mathematics
QUESTION 01 / MATHEMATICS
A vehicle travels 180 km in 3 hours at a constant speed. What is its speed?
- A. 60 km/h
- B. 90 km/h
- C. 30 km/h
- D. 45 km/h
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. Speed is distance divided by time: 180 / 3 = 60 km/h.
Common mistake: Identify the base, units and operation before calculating. Check the answer by substitution or estimation instead of relying only on speed.
QUESTION 02 / MATHEMATICS
What is the smallest positive integer divisible by both 12 and 18?
- A. 24
- B. 30
- C. 36
- D. 72
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. LCM uses prime factors 2 squared x 3 squared = 36.
Common mistake: Identify the base, units and operation before calculating. Check the answer by substitution or estimation instead of relying only on speed.
QUESTION 03 / MATHEMATICS
At 8% simple interest per year, how much interest does Rs 6,000 earn in three years?
- A. Rs 1,560
- B. Rs 480
- C. Rs 960
- D. Rs 1,440
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. Simple interest is principal x annual rate x years / 100. Substituting gives 6000 x 8 x 3 / 100 = Rs 1,440. The amount including principal would be Rs 7,440.
Common mistake: The question asks for interest, not total amount. Do not compound when simple interest is specified.
QUESTION 04 / MATHEMATICS
At 10% per annum, compounded annually, what is the interest on Rs 5,000 after two years?
- A. Rs 1,100
- B. Rs 500
- C. Rs 1,000
- D. Rs 1,050
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. After year one, the amount is 5000 x 1.10 = Rs 5,500. Year two earns Rs 550, giving Rs 6,050. Interest is amount minus principal: 6050 - 5000 = Rs 1,050.
Common mistake: Rs 1,000 is simple interest over two years. Annual compounding earns interest on the first year’s interest too.
QUESTION 05 / MATHEMATICS
A mixture contains milk and water in the ratio 3:2. In 25 litres, how much is milk?
- A. 15 litres
- B. 20 litres
- C. 10 litres
- D. 12 litres
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. The mixture has five ratio units. Milk represents three of them, so milk is 25 x 3/5 = 15 litres. Water is the remaining 10 litres.
Common mistake: A ratio of 3:2 does not mean three-fifths water. Match each ratio component to its named ingredient.
QUESTION 06 / MATHEMATICS
A tap fills a tank in 6 hours and a drain empties it in 12 hours. With both operating on an initially empty tank, how long does filling take?
- A. 4 hours
- B. 6 hours
- C. 12 hours
- D. 18 hours
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. The filling rate is 1/6 tank per hour and the draining rate is 1/12. Net rate is 1/6 - 1/12 = 1/12. Filling one tank therefore takes 12 hours.
Common mistake: Subtract the opposing rate. Adding both rates would wrongly treat the drain as another filling tap.
QUESTION 07 / MATHEMATICS
A quantity is increased by 20%, then decreased by 20%. What is the final change?
- A. 4% increase
- B. 20% decrease
- C. No change
- D. 4% decrease
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. Starting with 100 gives 120, then 96. The percentage bases differ, so the changes do not cancel.
Common mistake: Identify the base, units and operation before calculating. Check the answer by substitution or estimation instead of relying only on speed.
QUESTION 08 / MATHEMATICS
A product costs Rs 800 and is sold for Rs 920. What is the profit percentage?
- A. 20%
- B. 12%
- C. 15%
- D. 18%
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. Profit is 920 - 800 = 120. Profit percentage uses cost price: 120 / 800 x 100 = 15%.
Common mistake: Profit percentage uses cost price, not selling price. Dividing 120 by 920 gives a different measure.
Mental Ability
QUESTION 09 / MENTAL ABILITY
If every letter is shifted forward by one, CAT becomes DBU. What does PEN become?
- A. QEN
- B. RGP
- C. QFO
- D. ODM
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. P becomes Q, E becomes F and N becomes O. Apply the same rule to every letter.
Common mistake: Use only the stated conditions. A possible conclusion is not necessarily a conclusion that must follow; draw a diagram when relationships are involved.
QUESTION 10 / MENTAL ABILITY
Some notebooks are blue. All blue objects in the collection are labelled. Which conclusion follows?
- A. All labelled objects are notebooks
- B. Some notebooks are labelled
- C. All notebooks are blue
- D. No notebook is labelled
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. The notebooks described as blue belong to the group of blue objects. Every object in that group is labelled, so at least those notebooks are labelled. The statements do not describe all notebooks or all labelled objects.
Common mistake: Carry the stated overlap through the universal condition without reversing the implication.
QUESTION 11 / MENTAL ABILITY
P sits immediately left of Q in a row facing north. R sits immediately right of Q. What is their left-to-right order?
- A. P R Q
- B. P Q R
- C. Q P R
- D. R Q P
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Q has P on the left and R on the right. The direction is explicitly given.
Common mistake: Fix the facing direction before interpreting left and right. Changing north to south would reverse the diagram.
QUESTION 12 / MENTAL ABILITY
Five people stand in a line. A is immediately before B, and B immediately before C. Which statement must be true?
- A. A is immediately after C
- B. C is immediately before B
- C. B is two positions before A
- D. A is two positions before C
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. The three consecutive positions are A, B, C. There is one person, B, between A and C, so their position difference is two. The remaining people do not alter that local relationship.
Common mistake: Do not assume the three people occupy the start of the entire line; only their relative order is fixed.
QUESTION 13 / MENTAL ABILITY
All cashiers are employees. No employee is a visitor. Which conclusion must follow?
- A. All visitors are cashiers
- B. Some visitors are employees
- C. Some cashiers are visitors
- D. No cashier is a visitor
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. The cashier group is entirely inside the employee group. Since the employee and visitor groups do not overlap, no cashier can be a visitor. This follows even without knowing how many cashiers exist.
Common mistake: Do not invent an overlap ruled out by the second statement. A set diagram makes the exclusion explicit.
QUESTION 14 / MENTAL ABILITY
A task must follow this order: M before N, and N before P. Which order is valid?
- A. P N M
- B. N M P
- C. M N P
- D. M P N
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. Combining the two constraints gives M before N before P. M N P respects both requirements. Each other option reverses at least one stated order.
Common mistake: Check every constraint, not only the first. A partially valid arrangement can still be invalid overall.
QUESTION 15 / MENTAL ABILITY
A is the sister of B. B is the father of C. What is A’s relationship to C?
- A. Paternal aunt
- B. Grandmother
- C. Daughter
- D. Mother
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. Start from C: B is C’s father. A is B’s sister, making her the sister of C’s father, or paternal aunt. No additional relationship is stated.
Common mistake: Follow the direction of each relationship. Being a sister of the father does not make A the child’s mother.
QUESTION 16 / MENTAL ABILITY
Among 40 students, 25 like tea, 20 like coffee and 10 like both. How many like neither?
- A. 10
- B. 15
- C. 0
- D. 5
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. Students liking at least one drink number 25 + 20 - 10 = 35; subtract the overlap once because it was counted twice. Those liking neither are 40 - 35 = 5.
Common mistake: Adding 25 and 20 without correcting the overlap overcounts. Draw a two-set diagram to separate both, only one and neither.
General Science
QUESTION 17 / GENERAL SCIENCE
Which organ performs the main gas exchange in human respiration?
- A. Kidneys
- B. Lungs
- C. Liver
- D. Stomach
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Gas exchange takes place in the lungs, chiefly across the alveolar surfaces.
Common mistake: Check the scientific quantity, mechanism and units. Do not confuse a related process or measurement with the one being asked about.
QUESTION 18 / GENERAL SCIENCE
Which gas is taken up by plants during photosynthesis?
- A. Carbon dioxide
- B. Nitrogen only
- C. Helium
- D. Hydrogen
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. Plants use carbon dioxide and water to form sugars using light energy.
Common mistake: Check the scientific quantity, mechanism and units. Do not confuse a related process or measurement with the one being asked about.
QUESTION 19 / GENERAL SCIENCE
An acidic aqueous solution generally has a pH of what?
- A. Below 7
- B. Exactly 7 always
- C. Above 7
- D. Always 14
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. At the usual school-level reference conditions, an acidic solution has pH below 7.
Common mistake: Check the scientific quantity, mechanism and units. Do not confuse a related process or measurement with the one being asked about.
QUESTION 20 / GENERAL SCIENCE
Which process transfers heat through the bulk movement of a fluid?
- A. Conduction without bulk flow
- B. Magnetisation
- C. Evaporation as the definition of every heat transfer
- D. Convection
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: D. Convection involves movement of liquid or gas carrying energy. Conduction transfers energy through interactions without the same bulk transport. Distinguishing mechanisms helps explain heating in fluids.
Common mistake: Do not use one heat-transfer term for every mechanism.
QUESTION 21 / GENERAL SCIENCE
The SI unit of force is what?
- A. Joule
- B. Watt
- C. Newton
- D. Pascal
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. Force is measured in newtons. Joule is energy, watt is power and pascal is pressure.
Common mistake: Check the scientific quantity, mechanism and units. Do not confuse a related process or measurement with the one being asked about.
QUESTION 22 / GENERAL SCIENCE
An electric circuit has current 2 A through resistance 5 ohms. What is the potential difference?
- A. 25 V
- B. 10 V
- C. 2.5 V
- D. 7 V
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Ohm’s law gives V = I R. Substitute 2 amperes and 5 ohms: V = 2 x 5 = 10 volts under the specified resistive conditions.
Common mistake: Voltage is the product here, not the sum of current and resistance.
QUESTION 23 / GENERAL SCIENCE
What is the principal role of red blood cells in ordinary human physiology?
- A. Transporting oxygen
- B. Producing urine
- C. Digesting starch in the stomach
- D. Forming the skeleton
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. Red blood cells contain haemoglobin that supports oxygen transport. Urine formation, digestion and skeletal support involve different organs or tissues. The question concerns a basic biological function, not diagnosis.
Common mistake: Distinguish cells’ functions from functions of whole organs.
QUESTION 24 / GENERAL SCIENCE
Which part of a plant primarily absorbs water and mineral ions from the soil?
- A. Petals
- B. Roots
- C. Flowers
- D. Fruits
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Roots, including their absorbing surfaces, take up water and mineral ions. These resources are transported within the plant. Leaves have important photosynthetic functions but are not the main soil-absorbing organ.
Common mistake: Distinguish uptake of raw materials from manufacture of sugars during photosynthesis.
Basic Engineering Foundations
QUESTION 25 / BASIC ENGINEERING FOUNDATIONS
Kirchhoff’s current law expresses which principle at a circuit node?
- A. Resistance must always be zero
- B. Power is created at the node
- C. Algebraic sum of currents is zero
- D. Every branch has the same voltage drop in all circuits
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: C. The law reflects charge conservation: with consistent signs, currents entering and leaving a node balance. It differs from the voltage law applied around a loop.
Common mistake: Choose sign conventions consistently and distinguish node and loop equations.
QUESTION 26 / BASIC ENGINEERING FOUNDATIONS
Two resistors of 4 ohms and 6 ohms are connected in series. What is their equivalent resistance?
- A. 10 ohms
- B. 2.4 ohms
- C. 5 ohms
- D. 24 ohms
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. Series resistances add: 4 + 6 = 10 ohms. The same current passes through the series elements. A parallel connection would require a different relationship and give a smaller equivalent resistance.
Common mistake: Identify the connection before choosing the formula.
QUESTION 27 / BASIC ENGINEERING FOUNDATIONS
A 10-ohm resistor carries 2 amperes. What is the voltage across it?
- A. 10 V
- B. 20 V
- C. 40 V
- D. 5 V
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Ohm’s law gives V = I R = 2 x 10 = 20 volts.
Common mistake: Identify current, voltage, resistance and the specified circuit conditions. Do not substitute a formula from an unrelated component.
Mechanical Foundations
QUESTION 28 / MECHANICAL FOUNDATIONS
A machine performs 600 joules of work in 20 seconds. What is its average power?
- A. 620 W
- B. 30 W
- C. 12,000 W
- D. 580 W
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Average power is work divided by elapsed time: 600/20 = 30 joules per second, or 30 watts. Work and power are related but have different dimensions.
Common mistake: Do not multiply work by time when calculating a rate.
QUESTION 29 / MECHANICAL FOUNDATIONS
A shaft rotates at 10 revolutions per second. What is its angular speed?
- A. 20 pi radians per second
- B. 10 radians per second
- C. 10 pi radians per second
- D. 100 radians per second
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: A. One revolution is 2 pi radians. Multiplying 10 revolutions per second by 2 pi gives 20 pi radians per second. The conversion is required before using angular-speed formulas in radians.
Common mistake: Revolutions per second and radians per second are not numerically identical.
QUESTION 30 / MECHANICAL FOUNDATIONS
For an ideal heat engine, efficiency is expressed as what?
- A. Always 100%
- B. Work output / heat input
- C. Heat input / work output
- D. Work output + heat input
Reveal answer and detailed solution
Answer: B. Thermal efficiency is the fraction of input heat converted into net work.
Common mistake: Define the system and units before calculating. Work, heat, power and efficiency describe different quantities.
06 / PREPARATION GUIDE
Mock-test review and weak-area revision
Start by topic: choose a chapter from your syllabus and revise its method before practising. Subject-wise mock tests combine related topics; chapter-wise tests isolate one concept. The original sets above are untimed practice, so record your own attempts if you use them for revision.
Move to a verified mock: compare the test distribution, sectional timing and marking scheme with your actual cycle. A free mock test or free test series must be identified as free in its current access terms; the app link below is not a guarantee of free full-length tests for this exam.
Analyse the attempt: record correct, wrong and skipped questions, accuracy and time. For topic-wise weak-area analysis, classify mistakes by chapter and reason rather than treating every low score as the same problem.
Compare by exam: keep results from the same exam stage together. Use mock test performance analysis to decide your next revision task, not as a prediction of selection. Reattempt missed concepts after a gap.
Explore available app practice
App sign-in required. Check exam coverage, language options and access terms.
07 / PREPARATION GUIDE
FAQs and official sources
Are these free questions official previous-year papers?
No. These are 30 original worked examples. Official paper resources and memory-based reconstructions must be labelled separately.
Does this page provide a full-length mock test?
No. The questions are untimed subject-wise practice. Check the app catalogue for available exam-specific mock tests and their current terms.
How should I identify weak topics?
Record the subject, chapter and cause of each error. Review the method, reattempt without the solution and compare accuracy across comparable sets.
Which notification should I follow?
RRB ALP CEN 01/2026. CBT 1 and CBT 2 deduct one-third of a mark per wrong answer. Part B is qualifying at 35%; Part A is used for subsequent shortlisting subject to qualification in Part B. Read the current notice for CBAT qualifying requirements, merit calculation and medical standards.
Official pattern reference | Recruitment updates
Independent preparation guidance from GoodPillars. We are not affiliated with the examination authority; official notices take precedence.