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If you have passed Class 12 and want a railway job without a technical degree, the Railway Recruitment Boards' Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) undergraduate recruitment is the main route. The current round, Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 07/2026, lists 1,688 vacancies across four clerical posts, and applications close at 23:59 on 13 November 2026.
Which railway jobs can you get after 12th in the non-technical category?
The CEN 07/2026 notice names four posts, each open to candidates aged 18 to 30 on 1 January 2027:
Commercial cum Ticket Clerk: pay level 3, initial pay ₹21,700, 700 vacancies, medical standard B2.
Accounts Clerk cum Typist: pay level 2, initial pay ₹19,900, 200 vacancies, medical standard C2.
Junior Clerk cum Typist: pay level 2, initial pay ₹19,900, 600 vacancies, medical standard C2.
Trains Clerk: pay level 2, initial pay ₹19,900, 188 vacancies, medical standard A3.
All four need Class 12 or equivalent with at least 50% aggregate marks, a rule waived for SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates and anyone with a higher qualification. The upper age limit is relaxed by 3 years for OBC (non-creamy layer) and 5 years for SC and ST candidates.
What does each railway clerk job actually involve?
A Commercial cum Ticket Clerk issues tickets at booking offices through the Computer Reservation System and Unreserved Ticketing System, and may be posted as a goods clerk booking freight, per SSC Adda's job profile.
A Trains Clerk keeps records of train arrivals, departures and goods and passenger movement, per Oliveboard's profile of the post.
The two typist posts are desk jobs: keeping records and files, drafting letters and reports, and answering queries, per Oliveboard's Junior Clerk profile.
Eyesight matters more than students expect. The notice's medical table sets A3 (Trains Clerk) at 6/9 distance vision in each eye, glasses no stronger than 2 dioptres, plus colour and night vision tests. B2 (ticket clerk) allows glasses up to 4 dioptres. Anyone who has had LASIK cannot take an A3 post.
The previous round's typing test asked for 30 words per minute in English or 25 in Hindi, according to Testbook's report, a sensible practice target.
How does RRB NTPC selection work, stage by stage?
Section 13 of the CEN 07/2026 notice sets out four stages:
First CBT (screening): 100 questions in 90 minutes: 40 general awareness, 30 mathematics, 30 reasoning.
Second CBT (merit): 15 times the community-wise vacancies are shortlisted. 120 questions in 90 minutes: 50 general awareness, 35 mathematics, 35 reasoning.
Document verification: one candidate per vacancy (1:1) is called, on second-stage marks.
Medical examination to the post's standard.
Both tests deduct one-third of a mark per wrong answer, and marks are normalised across shifts. Minimum qualifying marks are 40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC (non-creamy layer) and SC, and 25% for ST. The fee is ₹500, with ₹400 refunded after you sit the first CBT; concession categories such as SC, ST, PwBD and female candidates pay ₹250, all refunded after the first CBT. Refunds go to an Aadhaar-seeded bank account, minus bank charges.
Should you attempt every question? A worked example
Under the notice's marking rule, each right answer earns 1 mark and each wrong one costs one-third:
Student A attempts 80 questions: 60 right, 20 wrong. Score: 60 minus 20/3, or 53.3.
Student B attempts 70: 60 right, 10 wrong. Score: 60 minus 10/3, or 56.7.
Same 60 correct answers, 3.3 marks apart. If a question has four options, a blind guess is worth zero on average; rule out one option and it is worth 1/9 of a mark. Guess only after eliminating something.
How do you choose your RRB and post preferences?
Before you submit, check these points from the CEN 07/2026 notice:
Apply to one RRB only; multiple applications are all rejected and can bring debarment.
Check your eyesight against A3 before ranking Trains Clerk first.
Rank by daily work: a public ticket counter or an office desk.
Choose the zone carefully. Transfer requests are not registered until 5 to 10 years of service.
Enter your name and date of birth exactly as on your Class 10 certificate.
How should you prepare for the maths and reasoning sections?
The notice's maths syllabus runs from number system and percentages to time and work, interest, profit and loss, elementary algebra, geometry and statistics. RRB will post mock tests on its official website; take one early and list where you lose marks.
If a time-and-work question keeps going wrong at the same step, the Fermi Problem Library has a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning rather than printing an answer. For a topic you never learned properly, the Fermi Concept Library gives each mathematics concept its own lesson.
Comparing routes? See our SSC CHSL after 12th plan for a similar clerical exam and railway careers through engineering for the technical side. Scams copy railway notices, so read how to spot fake job offers before paying anyone.
Next step: check your marks and eyesight against Annexure A, then apply on rrb.indianrailways.gov.in before the deadline.
