RRB NTPC Exam Analysis 2026, Check Shift 1, 2 & 3 Difficulty Level, Good Attempts

Mar 19, 2026

The Railway Recruitment Board conducted the RRB NTPC CBT 1 Exam 2026 from March 16 to 27, 2026, for candidates aspiring to secure Non-Technical Popular Categories posts. The exam was held in multiple shifts in online mode, consisting of 100 MCQs from General Awareness, Mathematics, and General Intelligence & Reasoning, with a duration of 90 minutes and negative marking applicable.

RRB NTPC Question Papers

This article provides a detailed RRB NTPC Exam Analysis 2026 based on candidate feedback and expert review. It covers overall difficulty level, section-wise analysis, topic-wise questions, good attempts, and expected cut-off trends to help candidates evaluate their performance effectively.

RRB NTPC 2026 Exam Overview

Particulars	Details
Exam Name	RRB NTPC Level Exam
Conducting Body	Railway Recruitment Board (RRB)
Stages	CBT 1 CBT 2 Skill Test
Mode	Online (CBT)
Negative Marking	1/3 mark

RRB NTPC 2026 Shift Timing

The Railway Recruitment Board conducts the RRB NTPC 2026 exam in multiple shifts each day to manage a large number of candidates efficiently. Candidates can check the RRB NTPC 2026 shift timing to ensure timely reporting and follow the exam schedule without any confusion:

Shift	Reporting Time	Exam Time
Shift 1	7:30 AM	9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Shift 2	11:00 AM	12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Shift 3	3:00 PM	4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

RRB NTPC CBT 1 March 19 Shift-wise Analysis 2026

Shift 1 Analysis

Section	Difficulty	Key Highlights
General Awareness	Moderate	Current affairs, static GK, polity questions
Mathematics	Easy–Moderate	Arithmetic-based, calculative, but doable
Reasoning	Easy–Moderate	Coding-decoding, series, puzzles
Overall	Moderate	Good attempt possible with speed

Shift 2 Analysis

Section	Difficulty	Key Highlights
General Awareness	Moderate–Difficult	Current affairs and factual questions
Mathematics	Moderate	Lengthy calculations, DI questions
Reasoning	Moderate	Puzzles and logical reasoning
Overall	Moderate	Slightly tougher than Shift 1

Shift 3 Analysis

Section	Difficulty	Key Highlights
General Awareness	TBA	TBA
Mathematics	TBA	TBA
Reasoning	TBA	TBA
Overall	TBA	TBA

Section-wise Analysis (March 19)

General Awareness

Moderate difficulty overall
Heavy focus on current affairs
Questions from History, Polity, and Science

Mathematics

Easy to Moderate
Arithmetic dominated the paper
Some shifts had time-consuming questions

Reasoning

Easy and scoring
Mostly direct questions
Puzzles and coding-decoding are frequently asked

Shift-wise Good Attempts (CBT 1)

Shift	Good Attempts
Shift 1	70-85
Shift 2	65-80
Shift 3	TBA

Key Observations Across Shifts

General Awareness varied the most across shifts
Mathematics remained moderate and calculative
Reasoning was generally scoring
Shift 2 was slightly tougher compared to the others

Relevant Links
RRB NTPC Answer Key	RRB NTPC Result	RRB NTPC Cutoff
RRB NTPC Exam Pattern	RRB NTPC Syllabus	RRB NTPC Salary

RRB NTPC Exam Analysis 2026 FAQs

Ques: What was the difficulty level of RRB NTPC 2026 CBT 1?

Ans: The difficulty level of CBT 1 was Easy to Moderate. Most questions were straightforward. Candidates with basic preparation could attempt a good number of questions.

Ques: What are good attempts in RRB NTPC 2026?

Ans: Good attempts in CBT 1 ranged between 70-85 questions. For CBT 2, good attempts were around 80–95 questions, depending on accuracy.

Ques: Which section was most difficult in RRB NTPC 2026?

Ans: The General Awareness section was considered the most challenging. It included current affairs and static GK questions. CBT 2 GA was slightly tougher.

Ques: Is there negative marking in RRB NTPC exam?

Ans: Yes, there is a negative marking of 1/3 mark for each wrong answer. Candidates need to maintain accuracy while attempting questions.

Ques: What should candidates do after the exam?

Ans: Candidates should check the answer keys and calculate their scores. They should also prepare for the next stage if qualified. Staying updated with official notifications is important.

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*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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