The Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Ministry of Railways, Government of India, have released the Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 08/2026 exclusively for the post of Station Master in various Zonal Railways of Indian Railways. This is the first time the Station Master recruitment is being held through a separate, dedicated notification — as announced by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Railway Board has decided that Station Master recruitment will be notified separately from the NTPC recruitment from 2026 onwards. The indicative notice for this recruitment was published in Employment News on 24 October 2026 and the detailed CEN is available on the unified official RRB website.
A total of 1,265 vacancies of Station Master will be filled through this recruitment. The online application window opened on 27 October 2026 and the last date to submit the application is 25 November 2026 (up to 23:59 hours). Any graduate between 20 and 33 years of age can apply for this Level-6 post, which carries an initial pay of ₹35,400.
This article gives the complete details of CEN 08/2026 — important dates, vacancies, educational qualification, age limit, application fee, the new selection process with CBT and CBAT, and the step-by-step method to apply online — strictly as given in the official notification.
Recruitment Overview
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Recruiting Body | Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Ministry of Railways, Government of India |
| Notification Name | Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 08/2026 — Station Master |
| Advertisement / CEN No. | CEN No. 08/2026 |
| Post Name | Station Master |
| Total Vacancies | 1,265 (all RRBs, as per Annexure B of the CEN) |
| Pay Level | Level-6 of 7th CPC, Initial Pay ₹35,400 |
| Application Mode | Online only (rrbapply.gov.in) |
| Job Location | Zonal Railways across India |
| Official Website | https://rrb.indianrailways.gov.in |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Indicative Notice in Employment News | 24 October 2026 |
| Online Application Started | 27 October 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply Online | 25 November 2026 (up to 23:59 hours) |
| Last Date for Application Fee Payment (for submitted applications) | 27 November 2026 |
| Application Modification Window (with modification fee of ₹250 per occasion) | 28 November 2026 to 7 December 2026 |
| CBT / CBAT Exam Dates | Not yet announced by the department |
Note: The dates for the CBT, CBAT, Document Verification and Medical Examination will be fixed by the RRBs and intimated through the unified official RRB website. Details filled in the ‘Create an Account’ form and the ‘Chosen RRB’ cannot be modified even during the modification window.
Vacancy Details
| Post Name | Pay Level (7th CPC) | Initial Pay | Medical Standard | Age (as on 01.01.2027) | Total Vacancies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Station Master | Level-6 | ₹35,400 | A-2 | 20–33 years | 1,265 |
The community-wise break-up of the 1,265 vacancies in Annexure B of the CEN is: UR — 542, SC — 176, ST — 104, OBC — 296 and EWS — 147 (with 133 vacancies reserved for Ex-Servicemen horizontally). The largest shares are with RRB Mumbai (Central Railway) — 125, RRB Jammu-Srinagar — 122, RRB Chennai — 119 and RRB Thiruvananthapuram — 114. Candidates should note that the “vacancies at a glance” summary printed in the CEN showed 1,215 posts, which was corrected to 1,265 — the total given in the RRB-wise vacancy table (Annexure B) — through Corrigendum No. 1 dated 27 October 2026; the Press Information Bureau release on this recruitment also confirms 1,265 vacancies. The vacancies are provisional and may change as per the requirement of the Railway administrations. In addition to the initial pay, selected candidates will receive Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance and other allowances as per Railway rules.
Educational Qualification (Eligibility)
- The candidate must possess a Graduate Degree from a recognized University or its equivalent (as prescribed in Annexure A of the CEN).
- The candidate must already hold the degree as on the closing date for submission of online applications, i.e. 25 November 2026. Candidates awaiting the final results of the prescribed qualification are not eligible to apply.
- The post requires medical standard A-2, which includes stringent vision standards; candidates shortlisted for the CBAT must produce a Vision Certificate in the prescribed format at the time of the aptitude test.
Age Limit
- Age will be reckoned as on 1 January 2027.
- Minimum age: 20 years, Maximum age: 33 years.
- This means the candidate must have been born on or before 1 January 2007, and not earlier than 2 January 1994 (for UR/EWS), 2 January 1991 (for OBC-NCL) and 2 January 1989 (for SC/ST).
- Age relaxation in the upper age limit: OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) — 3 years; SC & ST — 5 years; Ex-Servicemen — 3 years (UR & EWS), 6 years (OBC-NCL) and 8 years (SC & ST) after deduction of the length of service. Further relaxations for serving Railway staff and widowed/divorced women candidates are given in Para 8.3 of the CEN.
Application Fee
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| All candidates (except the concession categories below) | ₹500 |
| Female, Transgender, Ex-Servicemen, SC, ST, Minority Communities or Economically Backward Class (EBC) | ₹250 |
Out of the fee of ₹500, an amount of ₹400 shall be refunded (duly deducting bank charges) when the candidate appears in the CBT. The fee of ₹250 paid by the concession categories shall likewise be refunded (duly deducting bank charges) on appearing in the CBT. The fee can be paid through online mode only — internet banking, debit/credit cards or UPI. Candidates should note that EBC (annual family income below ₹50,000) is different from OBC and EWS, and EBC candidates are entitled only to fee concession, not job reservation.
Selection Process
From 2026, Station Master selection follows its own dedicated process under CEN 08/2026:
- Single Stage Computer Based Test (CBT): 100 questions of 1 mark each in 120 minutes — Basic Science, Mathematical and Analytical Capability (60 marks), Logical Capability (20 marks) and Mental Reasoning (20 marks). There is negative marking of 1/3 mark for each wrong answer, and normalized scores are used for shortlisting for the CBAT. The minimum qualifying marks are: UR — 40%, EWS — 40%, OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) — 30%, SC — 30% and ST — 25%.
- Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT): Candidates equal to 8 times the number of vacancies (RRB-wise) are shortlisted from the CBT. Candidates must secure a minimum T-score of 42 marks in each test battery of the CBAT to qualify; there is no relaxation in this minimum T-score and no negative marking in the CBAT. A Vision Certificate in the prescribed format must be produced at the CBAT.
- Document Verification (DV): The merit list is drawn only from candidates qualifying in the CBAT, with 70% weightage for CBT marks and 30% weightage for CBAT marks. Candidates equal to the number of vacancies are called for DV on this merit.
- Medical Examination: Appointment is subject to passing the prescribed A-2 medical standard, final verification of certificates and verification of antecedents/character.
How to Apply
- Visit the unified official RRB website https://rrb.indianrailways.gov.in and open the application link for CEN No. 08/2026, or go directly to the application portal https://www.rrbapply.gov.in.
- If you have already created an account for RRB CENs notified in 2024, 2025 or 2026, log in with the same credentials; otherwise, first use the ‘Create an Account’ facility. Fill the account details very carefully — they cannot be changed later.
- The RRBs advise candidates to authenticate their identity using Aadhaar or DigiLocker during account creation/application, as this makes later stages smoother.
- Choose only one RRB and submit a single online application to that RRB, giving your order of Railway Zone preferences. Applying to more than one RRB will lead to rejection of all applications.
- Fill in your personal details, educational qualification and category details, and capture/upload your live photograph and scanned documents (photograph, signature and certificates) as specified in the CEN.
- Pay the application fee online through internet banking, debit/credit card or UPI.
- Preview the complete form carefully and submit it before 25 November 2026 (23:59 hours). Keep a printout/copy of the submitted application for future reference.
Important Links
| Link | Address |
|---|---|
| Apply Online (RRB Application Portal) | https://www.rrbapply.gov.in |
| Official Notification (Detailed CEN No. 08/2026) | https://rrb.indianrailways.gov.in/-/image/1793016771817CEN_08_2026_StationMaster.pdf/examsDocuments |
| Unified Official RRB Website | https://rrb.indianrailways.gov.in |
| Indian Railways Website | https://indianrailways.gov.in |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. How many vacancies are there in RRB Station Master Recruitment 2026 (CEN 08/2026)?
Answer: There are 1,265 Station Master vacancies across all RRBs, as per the RRB-wise vacancy table (Annexure B) of the CEN. The figure of 1,215 printed in the summary table of the notification was corrected to 1,265 through Corrigendum No. 1 dated 27 October 2026.
Q2. What is the last date to apply for RRB Station Master CEN 08/2026?
Answer: The last date to submit the online application is 25 November 2026 (up to 23:59 hours). The fee for submitted applications can be paid up to 27 November 2026, and the modification window runs from 28 November to 7 December 2026.
Q3. What is the qualification and age limit for the Station Master post?
Answer: The candidate must hold a Graduate Degree from a recognized University or its equivalent as on 25 November 2026, and must be between 20 and 33 years of age as on 1 January 2027 (with relaxation for reserved categories as per the CEN).
Q4. What is the salary of a Station Master in Indian Railways?
Answer: Station Master is a Level-6 post of the 7th CPC with an initial pay of ₹35,400, in addition to Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance and other allowances as per Railway rules.
Q5. What is the selection process for RRB Station Master 2026?
Answer: Selection is through a single-stage Computer Based Test (CBT), followed by the Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT), Document Verification and Medical Examination. The final merit list is prepared with 70% weightage to CBT marks and 30% weightage to CBAT marks, from among the candidates who qualify in the CBAT.
Q6. When will the RRB Station Master exam be held?
Answer: The exam date has not yet been announced by the department. As per the CEN, the date, time and venue of the CBT, CBAT and other stages will be fixed by the RRBs and intimated through the unified official RRB website.
Source: Railway Recruitment Boards, Ministry of Railways — Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) No. 08/2026 for the post of Station Master, published on the unified official RRB website https://rrb.indianrailways.gov.in, and the Press Information Bureau release “Indian Railways to Recruit 1,265 Station Masters” dated 27 October 2026. Candidates must read the official notification carefully before applying.