RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026: 1,265 Posts

If you opened the RRB NTPC form this year looking for the Station Master post, you can stop searching. It isn’t there. The Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) have taken Station Master out of NTPC and given it a notification of its own — Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 08/2026 — and the RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 will fill 1,265 posts across 21 RRBs. Applications opened on 27 October 2026, the last date to apply online is 25 November 2026 (11:59 pm), and the fee for a submitted form can be paid till 27 November 2026.

No CBT-1 and CBT-2 this time — one single-stage CBT, then an aptitude test, and no interview.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, everything below is from the official CEN — including one correction the boards issued a day later.

If you’re also tracking the graduate-level NTPC recruitment, read our RRB NTPC Graduate Recruitment 2026 guide alongside this one.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 in short: The Railway Recruitment Boards are filling 1,265 Station Master posts under CEN No. 08/2026, a standalone notification that is separate from RRB NTPC. Any graduate aged 20 to 33 years can apply online at rrbapply.gov.in from 27 October to 25 November 2026. Selection is through a single-stage CBT, a computer based aptitude test (CBAT), document verification and an A-2 medical examination — there is no interview.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Overview

One number, two versions — read this before you trust any vacancy count.In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, page 3 of the CEN prints 1,215 in its summary table. The detailed RRB-wise table at the back (Annexure-B) adds up to 1,265. A day after the notification came out, the boards settled the argument themselves: Corrigendum No. 1, dated 27 October 2026, says the total is to be read as 1,265 and that 1,215 was printed by mistake. Plenty of sites still carry the wrong figure — if one tells you 1,215, it’s working from the uncorrected page.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Important Dates

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, notice the two-step deadline, because it trips people up every cycle. Your form must be submitted by 25 November; the extra two days, till 27 November, are only for paying the fee on a form that’s already in. Submitting on 26 November isn’t an option. The boards also say, in so many words, that they won’t take responsibility if the site chokes on last-day traffic — so don’t leave it to the 25th evening.

And no, the exam date isn’t out. Some websites have already printed an exam month for this recruitment. The CEN hasn’t — it says only that the CBT date will be intimated later. Until an RRB notice announces it, any specific month you see is a guess dressed up as a schedule.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – RRB-Wise and Category-Wise Details

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the spread is lopsided. Mumbai (Central Railway) tops the list with 125 posts, followed by Jammu-Srinagar (122), Chennai (119) and Thiruvananthapuram (114). At the other end, Malda has just 4 posts — every one of them reserved for ST candidates. Small boards fill up fast in merit terms; big boards give you more room. The full official table from Annexure-B (the count is provisional and may increase or decrease):

Category-wise totals. Out of 1,265 posts: UR 542, OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) 296, SC 176, EWS 147 and ST 104. The 133 Ex-Servicemen posts sit inside these numbers, not on top of them. Two rows deserve a second look: Gorakhpur (NER) has 9 ST posts but zero OBC posts, and Malda’s entire table is 4 ST posts — if you belong to those categories, a small board like that can quietly be your best shot. In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, one more thing: the post is marked not suitable for PwBD candidates, so there are no PwBD vacancies in this CEN.

Why RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 Has Its Own CEN This Year – and What the Job Involves

Why the separate notification? Because the Railway Board decided so, in terms. The Ministry of Railways’ PIB release for this recruitment (27 October 2026) states that Station Master recruitment “will be notified separately from 2026 onwards”. Until now, the post rode inside the big NTPC Graduate notification, where one combined merit machine handled a dozen different posts.

Now it stands alone: one CEN, one post, one merit list, one panel. What that means for you is practical, not just administrative — a single-stage CBT written only for this post, instead of the CBT-1 and CBT-2 ladder of NTPC, and a preparation target that doesn’t wander across other posts’ syllabi.

What does a Station Master actually do? For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the CEN doesn’t describe the job — notifications rarely do — so treat this part as background, separate from the official facts in the rest of this article.

A Station Master is the operating head of a railway station: receiving and dispatching trains safely, controlling signals and points, enforcing the rule book during failures and emergencies, and supervising the station’s operating staff. At a small station, the Station Master on duty is effectively the whole authority. It’s shift work around the clock — night duties aren’t an exception in this job, they’re the roster. Candidates from earlier cycles may know this same post as Assistant Station Master (ASM), the name older NTPC notifications used.

Career growth, in brief. In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, you join on a training stipend (the CEN is clear that training pays stipend, not salary), then start at Level 6. From there, railway operating cadres grow by seniority and departmental examinations — senior Station Master grades, Station Superintendent, and onward towards supervisory and Group B posts in the Operating department.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, one caution straight from the CEN (para 4.20): a transfer to another railway won’t even be registered until you’ve completed at least 5 to 10 years of service. In plain terms, the RRB you pick now is likely your home base for a long time. Choose it like one.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Eligibility Criteria

Who can apply — the short answer: For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, a candidate who holds a graduate degree in any discipline, is 20 to 33 years old as on 1 January 2027 (with the usual category relaxations), and meets the A-2 medical standard, which includes 6/9 vision without glasses. Candidates who have had LASIK surgery cannot apply for this post. The exact date-of-birth cut-offs and the rest of the detail are below.

Age limit. For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, you must be 20 to 33 years old, counted as on 1 January 2027. In date-of-birth terms: UR and EWS candidates born on or after 2 January 1994, OBC-NCL on or after 2 January 1991, SC/ST on or after 2 January 1989 — and nobody, in any category, born after 1 January 2007.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, those dates already build in the standard relaxation: 3 years for OBC-NCL, 5 for SC/ST. Ex-servicemen get 3, 6 or 8 extra years (UR/EWS, OBC-NCL, SC/ST) after their service is deducted; serving railway staff and widowed or divorced women have their own higher ceilings. Two traps here: SC/ST/OBC candidates applying against UR vacancies get no age relaxation, and if you qualify for relaxation on two grounds, you get only the bigger one — they don’t add up. The date of birth you type must match your Class 10 certificate exactly; it can’t be changed later.

Educational qualification. For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, this part is short, for once. You need a graduate degree in any discipline from a recognised university, or its equivalent. No subject condition, no minimum percentage. The catch is timing: you must already hold the degree on the closing date, 25 November 2026. Still waiting for your final-year result? This isn’t your cycle — the CEN bars candidates awaiting results, in bold, twice.

Medical standard — the section that quietly rejects the most people. In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, station Master is an A-2 medical post, and A-2 is mostly about eyes. You need distant vision of 6/9, 6/9 without glasses, near vision of Sn 0.6 without glasses, and you must pass the colour vision, binocular vision, night vision and myopic vision tests.

Now the line that ends more applications than any exam ever will: if you have had LASIK surgery, or any surgery to correct refractive error, you are not eligible for Station Master at all. Not “eligible with conditions” — not eligible. That’s para 6.1 of the CEN, in as many words. You’ll have to sign a self-declaration about this at document verification, and your vision certificate is checked even earlier, at the aptitude test. If your eyes don’t meet A-2, the boards are blunt about it: no alternate post will be offered. Check your vision before you build a year around this exam.

Who can apply. You must be a citizen of India (subjects of Nepal and Bhutan, and persons of Indian origin who migrated from the countries listed in the CEN to settle in India, are also covered, with a government eligibility certificate where needed). There’s no domicile rule — you may apply to any one RRB in the country. Serving government, railway and PSU employees can apply directly, but they’ll need a No Objection Certificate from their employer at document verification.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Application Fee

How the fee is paid — and how it comes back. For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the fee is paid online only: internet banking, debit or credit card, or UPI. A form submitted without the fee is rejected outright.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the refund is the part candidates actually care about, so here it is: pay Rs 500 and Rs 400 comes back to you if you appear in the CBT; pay Rs 250 and the whole Rs 250 comes back on the same condition. Bank charges are deducted. Two conditions people miss — the refund lands only in a bank account seeded with your Aadhaar number (para 10.3 of the CEN), and if you never sit the exam, you get nothing back.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, don’t confuse EBC with EWS while filling the form: EBC (family income below Rs 50,000 a year) gets you only this fee concession, no reservation. EWS is a different category altogether, with its own Rs 8 lakh income test.

How to Apply for RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026

1. Go to the unified official RRB website, rrb.indianrailways.gov.in, and follow the CEN 08/2026 link to the application portal, rrbapply.gov.in. Apply only from here — the boards warn about fake look-alike sites every single cycle.
2. Create an Account if you don’t have one. Applied for any RRB CEN in 2024, 2025 or 2026? Use that same account; don’t make a fresh one. And type carefully — the details in the Create an Account form, including your mobile number and email, can never be changed afterwards.
3. Authenticate with Aadhaar or DigiLocker when asked — skip it and the CEN says you’ll face stricter scrutiny at every stage.
4. Fill the application for one RRB only, and enter your name, parents’ names and date of birth exactly as they appear on your Class 10 certificate.
5. Give your order of Railway Zone preferences under the RRB you’ve chosen. This order matters at allotment time, so don’t just click through it.
6. Capture your live photograph in the form itself — there’s no uploading an old studio photo. Plain white background, dark non-white clothing, no cap, mask or glasses, eyes open, face centred. Photographing a printed photo or a phone screen gets the application summarily rejected.
7. Upload your scanned signature: JPG/JPEG, 30 to 49 KB, black ink on white paper, in running handwriting. A signature in BLOCK or CAPITAL letters is a listed rejection ground — it’s the silliest way to lose a year. SC/ST candidates claiming the free rail pass also upload their caste certificate as a PDF below 400 KB.
8. Pay the fee online, confirm the payment success message on email and SMS, and submit well before 25 November. Take a printout of the submitted form and note your registration number — you’ll need it at every stage.

One application only. For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, this is the harshest rule in the document. One candidate, one RRB, one application. Apply to two RRBs — or twice to the same one — and all your applications are rejected and you’re debarred from every future RRB and RRC exam. There’s no “the second one was a mistake” defence. Stuck without internet? The CEN lets you apply through a Common Service Centre (CSC).

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Correction Window – What Can Be Changed

Made a typo? A correction window runs from 28 November to 7 December 2026. You can modify a submitted form any number of times in that window, at Rs 250 per modification, and the fee is non-refundable. After 7 December, the boards won’t entertain any change request at all.

Fields that cannot be changed. Two things are locked forever: everything in your Create an Account form (name, date of birth, mobile, email), and your chosen RRB. Pick the wrong RRB and no window, fee or request will move you.

Fee warning. In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, changing your community in the correction window can cost more than Rs 250. Switch from SC/ST to UR, OBC or EWS — or from a concession category like female or ex-serviceman to UR/OBC/EWS — and you must also pay the Rs 250 difference in examination fee, or the modified form won’t be accepted.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Exam Pattern

For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, put your NTPC preparation plan aside — this paper is built differently. There is no General Awareness section at all. No history, no polity, no current affairs. Instead, mathematics, basic science and data interpretation carry 60 of the 100 marks between them.

What’s actually in the syllabus. For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the 60-mark block splits into two halves. Basic Science and Mathematics (30 marks) covers the number system, ratio and proportion, averages, percentages, profit, loss and discounts, time-speed-distance, work and power, algebra, linear equations, arithmetic progression, LCM and HCF, geometry and trigonometry, area and volumes, and basic probability and statistics — plus a school-science run through units and measurement, mass, weight and density, energy, friction, velocity, heat and temperature, basic electricity, and levers and simple machines.

Data Analysis and Interpretation (the other 30) is charts, tables, graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, Venn diagrams, data sufficiency and data arrangement. Logical Capability (20) mixes reasoning — syllogisms, blood relations, clocks and calendars, assumptions, puzzles — with English reading-comprehension passages. Mental Reasoning (20) is analogy, series completion, coding-decoding and ranking-arrangement problems. The boards call this split indicative, so the real paper may shuffle a question or two between sections.

Marks are normalised. In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, if the CBT runs in more than one shift, your score is normalised before merit is drawn — standard RRB practice, and the reason a “tough shift” doesn’t sink you on its own.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Selection Process

How selection works, in short: In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, one CBT of 100 questions shortlists candidates at eight times the vacancies for the CBAT aptitude test; the final merit list then combines the two scores — 70% CBT and 30% CBAT — followed by document verification and the A-2 medical examination. To stay in that merit list at all, a candidate must score a minimum T-score of 42 in every CBAT test battery.

Stage 1 – Single-stage CBT. One computer-based test of 100 questions, as above. Your normalised CBT score does double duty: it decides who reaches the aptitude test, and it later carries 70% of your final merit. The minimum qualifying marks (40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC-NCL and SC, 25% for ST) only make you eligible — the actual cut-off for the next stage will sit far higher.

Stage 2 – Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT). For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, candidates eight times the number of vacancies, RRB-wise and category-wise, are called from the CBT merit list. Here’s the detail that catches people out: you must carry your vision certificate in the prescribed format (Annexure-VI of the CEN) in original to the CBAT itself. No certificate, no entry — it’s checked at this stage, not later.

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the test runs in English and Hindi only, there’s no negative marking, and you need a minimum T-score of 42 in every single test battery (para 15.2 of the CEN). Every battery. A brilliant average won’t rescue one weak battery, and there’s no relaxation in that 42 for any category. The Railway’s RDSO site has practice material for this test, and the CEN links to it — worth your time, because this format is unlike any CBT you’ve sat.

Stage 3 – Document verification. The merit list is drawn only from candidates who clear the CBAT, with 70% weightage to the CBT and 30% to the CBAT. Candidates equal to the number of vacancies are called for document verification — one candidate per post, so there’s no waiting-list cushion at this stage. Bring every original certificate, plus two sets of self-attested photocopies; no extra day is given if something’s missing. Ties in merit are broken by age — the older candidate ranks higher — and after that, alphabetically by first name.

Stage 4 – Medical examination. After verification comes the A-2 medical described above, run by the Railway Administration. Clear it and you’re empanelled — placed on your RRB’s final panel — from which the zonal railway issues the appointment offers; the RRB itself only recommends names. You’ll then undergo training, on stipend, before you hold a station of your own.

RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 – Salary

Railway Station Master salary, in short: In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the post starts at Rs 35,400 per month as basic pay in Pay Level 6 of the 7th CPC Pay Matrix, plus DA, HRA and other allowances under Central Government rules. A new appointee starts at the first cell of that level. During the training period, only a stipend is paid, not the full salary.

For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, a word of honesty about the numbers floating around online. The notification fixes only the pay level and the starting basic; it publishes no “in-hand” figure — your take-home depends on the current DA rate and the HRA slab of the city you’re posted in. Sites quoting an exact in-hand salary for this post are estimating, and some are estimating wildly. Work with Rs 35,400 basic plus allowances as the real picture.

Important Links

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the salary of a Station Master in Indian Railways?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the post is in Pay Level 6, and the starting basic pay is Rs 35,400 per month, plus DA, HRA and other Central Government allowances. The notification doesn’t publish an in-hand figure — it varies with the DA rate and your posting city’s HRA — so treat exact in-hand numbers on other websites as estimates.

How can I become a Station Master in the Railways?

Through this notification, the route is fixed: be a graduate aged 20 to 33, apply online at rrbapply.gov.in against one RRB before 25 November 2026, then clear the single-stage CBT and the CBAT aptitude test, followed by document verification and the A-2 medical examination. There is no interview. After selection you train on a stipend before taking charge of a station. One warning worth repeating: your Create an Account details can never be changed later, so fill them carefully the first time.

What is the qualification for Station Master in RRB?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, a graduate degree in any discipline from a recognised university — nothing more specific than that. There is no subject condition and no minimum percentage. The one hard condition is timing: you must already hold the degree on the closing date, 25 November 2026. If your final-year result is still awaited, the CEN does not let you apply. Separately, you also have to meet the A-2 medical standard, including 6/9 vision without glasses.

Is Station Master a good job?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, for most candidates, yes — with eyes open about the trade-offs. You get a Central Government post at Pay Level 6 (Rs 35,400 starting basic pay plus allowances), real responsibility from day one as the operating head of a station, and a growth path to senior Station Master grades and Station Superintendent. The costs are just as real: shift duties around the clock, including nights, and a transfer rule that keeps you with your chosen railway for at least 5 to 10 years (para 4.20 of the CEN). If you want responsibility and stability and can live with the roster, it is one of the better graduate-level railway posts.

What is the age limit for RRB Station Master 2026?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, 20 to 33 years, counted as on 1 January 2027. That means UR and EWS candidates born on or after 2 January 1994, OBC-NCL candidates on or after 2 January 1991, and SC/ST candidates on or after 2 January 1989; nobody can be born after 1 January 2007. The OBC and SC/ST dates already include their 3-year and 5-year relaxations.

What is the RRB Station Master exam date 2026?

For RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, it has not been announced. The CEN gives no exam date and no exam month — it says only that the RRBs will intimate the CBT date later. Expect the city intimation about 10 days before the exam and the e-call letter about 4 days before. If a website has already given you a month for this exam, that month is a guess; the notification itself names none.

I have had LASIK surgery. Can I apply for Station Master?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, no — and this one isn’t negotiable. Station Master is an A-2 medical post requiring 6/9 distant vision without glasses, and the CEN states that candidates who have undergone LASIK or any other refractive-correction surgery are not eligible for the post. You’ll be asked for a self-declaration on this at document verification.

Can I apply to more than one RRB? Can I correct my form later?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, one RRB only. Apply to more than one, or submit twice, and all your applications are rejected with debarment from future RRB exams. Corrections to a submitted form are allowed from 28 November to 7 December 2026 at Rs 250 per change — but your Create an Account details and your chosen RRB can never be changed.

What is the application fee for RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, and how much is refunded?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the fee is Rs 500 for general, OBC and EWS candidates, and Rs 250 for SC, ST, female, transgender, ex-serviceman, minority and EBC candidates. Appear in the CBT and Rs 400 of the Rs 500 — or the full Rs 250 — is refunded after bank charges, into the bank account seeded with your Aadhaar. Skip the exam and there’s no refund.

What is the CBAT in RRB Station Master selection, and what is the T-score rule?

In RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026, the Computer Based Aptitude Test is the second stage, held for candidates eight times the vacancies on CBT merit. You must score a T-score of at least 42 in every test battery — no relaxation for any category — and carry your original vision certificate (Annexure-VI format) to the test, or you won’t be allowed in. Final merit counts the CBT for 70% and the CBAT for 30%.

For more government jobs and daily updates, browse the Latest Jobs section of New Sarkari Results, and always verify the final details in the official CEN No. 08/2026 on rrb.indianrailways.gov.in before applying.

Written by Ravi Singh

Ravi Singh is the Editor (Government Jobs) at New Sarkari Results, an independent information portal for Sarkari Result, Sarkari Naukri, admit card, answer key, syllabus and admission updates. He has 10+ years of experience covering Government Jobs, Railway Jobs, SSC, Banking, Teaching, Police, Defence and state recruitment boards. Every update on this site is verified directly from the official notification PDF issued by the commission or board — never from third-party aggregators.