3,500 posts added to the Railway's Assistant Loco Pilot recruitment; check zone-wise vacancies..
A major change has been made to the 2026 Railway Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) recruitment. The initial notification mentioned a total of 11,127 vacancies, which has now been increased to 14,627—an addition of 3,500 new posts. A fresh notification has been issued, detailing these changes. This decision follows requests from various railway zones to increase the number of posts. Let’s take a look at the vacancy distribution across different zones.
Impact on Cut-off
The increase in the number of posts significantly broadens the scope for candidate selection. Adding over 3,000 positions will also influence the final merit list and the cut-off marks. In short, this is excellent news for young aspirants preparing for government jobs.
Vacancy Breakdown for RRB ALP Recruitment:
General Category: 6,032 posts
OBC: 3,662 posts
SC: 2,309 posts
EWS: 1,365 posts
ST: 1,259 posts
Ex-Servicemen: 1,461 posts
Zone-wise Vacancies
Secunderabad: Falling under the South Central Railway, this zone has been allocated a substantial number of posts, with approximately 2,039 vacancies.
Ranchi: This is another major zone—covering parts of the South Eastern Railway and East Central Railway—with a high number of vacancies, totaling 1,856 posts. Mumbai: Over 1,193 posts
Bilaspur: Over 400 posts in total
Kolkata: Over 700 posts under Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway
Bhubaneswar: Over 1,250 posts under the East Coast Railway zone
A total quota of 14,627 posts has been allocated across regions including Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Ajmer, Patna, Bengaluru, Chennai, Allahabad/Prayagraj, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Malda, Siliguri, and Thiruvananthapuram.
What are the changes?
There have been some changes in this railway recruitment drive. Specifically, the formula for the final merit list has been modified. Previously, the Computer-Based Test 2 (CBT-2) and the Computer-Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) carried different weightages; now, they have been assigned equal weightage. Additionally, a self-screening medical declaration is now mandatory at the time of application. Furthermore, the tie-breaking rule—applied when candidates secure identical scores—has been updated. Previously, the older candidate was given a higher rank; now, if the ages also match, the rank will be determined based on the alphabetical order of the candidates' names.
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