Loco pilot syllabus: what the railway entry exam covers

From ALP to loco pilot

Every engine driver on Indian Railways starts as an Assistant Loco Pilot. The ALP rides in the cab alongside the loco pilot, watches signals, checks the locomotive and learns the route. With years of service, safety training and departmental assessments, an ALP is promoted into loco pilot grades, beginning with shunting and goods work and later passenger and mail or express trains.

That is why there is no separate open exam named loco pilot. Searches for the loco pilot exam syllabus all lead to the RRB ALP recruitment, and its notice is the document to read.

Stages of the ALP recruitment

1. CBT 1: a qualifying screen. Marks do not go into the final merit.
2. CBT 2: two papers in one sitting. Part A decides your merit, while Part B, the trade test, needs only 35 percent to clear.
3. CBAT: a computer based aptitude battery, open only to candidates called on the strength of Part A. Clearing it means scoring a T value of 42 or above on each battery separately.
4. Documents and medical: the medical standard is A-1, the strictest railway category, with eyesight checked without glasses.

Rank in the final list combines the Part A score with the CBAT score. Earlier cycles used a 70 to 30 split in favour of Part A; the newest notice is said to make it an even 50 to 50. Read the selection clause of the notice you apply under.

Loco pilot syllabus: the three computer based papers

In the previous pattern, CBT 1 had 20 maths, 25 reasoning, 20 science and 10 general awareness questions, while Part A gave 40 of its 100 questions to engineering basics, 25 each to maths and reasoning and 10 to general awareness. Coverage of the newest notice says current affairs no longer appears in CBT 1, with the 75 questions shared equally among the remaining three subjects. Our RRB ALP syllabus page tracks these splits in more detail.

Subject wise topics

Mathematics

BODMAS sums, factors and multiples, fractions, proportion, percentages, simple and compound interest, profit, work and wages, train and stream sums, tanks, age puzzles, clock and calendar questions, mensuration, basic algebra, heights and distances, mean and median.

Mental ability

Analogies, series, coding, mathematical operations, relationships, syllogism, Venn diagrams, jumbling, data sufficiency, decision making, analytical reasoning and classification.

General science

School science up to the class 10 board level across its three branches. Electricity, magnetism, heat, work and energy deserve extra time because they link directly to locomotive work.

Engineering basics in Part A

Reading engineering drawings, SI units and measuring instruments, density and specific gravity, energy and power, motion, thermal ideas, circuits and Ohm's law, levers and pulleys, safety at the workplace, environmental awareness and computer literacy.

Trade paper (Part B)

Questions follow the national ITI curriculum for the allied trade, such as electrician, fitter, mechanic diesel, electronics mechanic or wireman, or from your diploma branch.

Loco pilot ka syllabus in Hindi

लोको पायलट बनने के लिए पहले असिस्टेंट लोको पायलट (ALP) की भर्ती परीक्षा देनी होती है। पहला चरण CBT 1 है, जिसमें 60 मिनट के अंदर 75 सवाल गणित, तर्कशक्ति और सामान्य विज्ञान से पूछे जाते हैं। दूसरे चरण CBT 2 का भाग A 90 मिनट और 100 सवालों का होता है, जिसमें बेसिक साइंस और इंजीनियरिंग का हिस्सा सबसे बड़ा रहता है। भाग B में 75 सवाल केवल आपके ट्रेड से आते हैं, जिसे 35 प्रतिशत से पास करना ज़रूरी है। दोनों CBT में ग़लती की सज़ा है: हर ग़लत उत्तर पर एक तिहाई नंबर कटता है। आखिर में साइको टेस्ट (CBAT) और A-1 मेडिकल होता है।

A preparation order that matches the weight

Engineering basics form the largest share of Part A, and your trade paper is a pass or fail gate, so ITI knowledge pays twice. Maths and reasoning show up in both CBT 1 and Part A, which makes them the best value per hour.

• Get your eyes checked early; A-1 rules out spectacles, and failing it after the CBTs ends your candidature.
• For CBT 1 science, the class 8, 9 and 10 NCERT books are enough.
• After each stage RRBs open a window to view question papers with provisional keys; save them for practice.

Related railway pages

Trade lists, age relaxation and medical rules are spelt out in our RRB ALP eligibility guide, while past qualifying marks are collected under RRB ALP cut off. For practice, read our guide to RRB ALP previous papers. ITI holders often sit the RRB technician syllabus exam as well, and every board recruitment is collected under railway exams.