RRB ALP · Mental Ability

Assistant Loco Pilot

The railway's own notification names the subject "Mental Ability".

It is one of three subjects in CBT-1, and it returns as General Intelligence and Reasoning in CBT-2 Part-A — the only part of the whole exam whose marks decide your rank.

For Class 10 + ITI, diploma and engineering-degree candidates preparing for ALP posts.

Only CBT-2 Part-A counts. CBT-1's marks are not carried into the final panel, and Part-B is qualifying only. Everything you are ranked on sits in one paper. Source: RRB CEN 01/2026, paras 12.1(b) and 12.2(f)(v).

Where reasoning sits

75
questions in CBT-1, in 60 minutes
100
questions in CBT-2 Part-A, in 90 minutes
1/3
deducted for a wrong answer, in both CBTs
35%
to qualify Part-B, which earns no rank
A tree growing inside a mind Why start now

Two screens stand between you and the only paper that counts.

CBT-1 does not add to your final marks — the notification says so plainly. Part-B of CBT-2 does not either; it only has to be passed at 35%. Everything you are ranked on is Part-A of CBT-2, and reasoning is one of its three subjects.

Which means reasoning has to carry you three times: through the screen, through the screen again, and then for marks. A skill that has to work three times is worth building properly rather than revising twice.

It builds a little each day, and it stays. Start it now.

What · the exam

The same thread runs through both computer-based tests.

The RRB lists it as Mental Ability in CBT-1 and as General Intelligence and Reasoning in CBT-2 Part-A — with the same topic list under both headings.

CBT-1 · the screen

Mathematics · Mental Ability · General Science

75 questions · 75 marks · 60 minutes
  • One mark a question, with 1/3 deducted for a wrong answer
  • Qualifying: 40% for UR and EWS, 30% for OBC-NCL and SC, 25% for ST
  • Marks are normalised across shifts
  • The marks are not counted while preparing the final panel
Clear it. Nothing from it is carried forward.
CBT-2 Part-A · the marks

General Intelligence and Reasoning, with Mathematics and Basic Science & Engineering

100 questions · 90 minutes
  • Part-B follows: 75 questions in 60 minutes, on your trade
  • Part-B is qualifying only, at 35% for every candidate
  • 1/3 deducted for a wrong answer here too
  • Only Part-A marks are counted for the stages that follow
The only stage whose marks build your rank.
How · train the subject

Mental Ability, trained the way a skill is trained.

Mental Ability isn't a syllabus you can read. It's a thinking skill, built by practising the right questions, the right amount, over time. That's exactly what Master Mental Ability does — and the RRB's own topic list for it reads like the app's contents page: analogies, series, coding and decoding, relationships, syllogism, Venn diagrams, classification and directions.

Adapts to you

Harder as you improve, easier when you slip. No time wasted on what you've already got.

Back before you forget

Spaced repetition returns a question right as it's about to fade — so it's still there on exam day.

Solve first, then see

You reason it out before the answer shows. That effort is where recognition gets built.

Calm before the clock

A moment to settle before each session. The same calm ninety minutes on the clock take away.

What this doesn't cover: ALP has three subjects in CBT-1 and three more in CBT-2 Part-A, plus a trade paper and an aptitude test. We train one thread — Mental Ability, and the General Intelligence and Reasoning that follows it in CBT-2. Mathematics, General Science, Basic Science and Engineering, and your trade paper all need their own preparation. The CBAT is a separate aptitude battery and this app does not prepare it.
Works offline on Android

Practice anywhere. No data needed on Android.

On Android, all questions live securely on your phone — so after install, daily practice costs zero data. On desktop or laptop, solve in any browser with an active connection. A quiet check-in about once a week syncs your progress.

Android works offline Full-screen web practice Progress saved online Zero data during practice
Launching soon

The Android app is still in build. Tell us which exam you are preparing for and we will message you the day it opens.

Built by

In 2007, in his second year at IIT Delhi, Vineesh wrote a book — Master Mental Ability in 30 Days. It has sold year after year ever since, without the publisher ever marketing it.

In the years since, he built other learning products and spent a decade working with children of every background in a holistic learning centre.

This app goes far beyond that book — everything he's learned about how people actually learn, built into something you practise, not just read.

No risk to you

Don't trust us. See it work.

1

Try free

Solve a full session, no registration. Decide nothing yet.

2

Register

Like it? Sign up for 2 more days free. No payment, no auto-debit.

3

Practise daily

Fifteen minutes a day on spatial reasoning, directional maps and analogy figures — the one thread that runs through CBT-1 and CBT-2 Part-A alike.

4

Share to keep learning free

Invite a friend preparing for ALP — you both earn more free days.

Your questions

Common questions

Is it really free? Will money get taken from my account?

Free to try — no signup to start, no card, no auto-debit, nothing taken silently. When you want the full library there are three plans, by length: ₹499 for three months, ₹699 for six, ₹999 for a year. Each is a single payment for that period, not a subscription — when it ends we ask you, and nothing is ever taken automatically. You can also keep learning free by sharing the app, and you can always try before paying anything.

Is this app enough to clear ALP?

No — and no single app is. ALP runs two computer-based tests, a trade paper and an aptitude test. We train the Mental Ability and reasoning thread that runs through both CBTs. Mathematics, General Science, Basic Science and Engineering and your trade all need their own preparation, and the CBAT we don't prepare at all. What we do, we do properly.

Do my CBT-1 marks count towards selection?

No. The notification says CBT-1 marks are not counted when the final panel is prepared, and Part-B of CBT-2 is only qualifying, at 35%. Your rank comes from Part-A of CBT-2 — which is why the reasoning you build for the first screen is really being built for that paper.

I have very little time before my exam. Is this any use?

Some. Practice always beats no practice. But be honest with yourself about what 75 questions in 60 minutes means: recognition is built over months, not in a week. Start anyway — the next CEN is closer than it feels.

Is the app in Hindi?

Yes — fully. Choose Hindi and the whole app is Hindi: the questions themselves, the options, and the explanation after each one — not an English app with Hindi labels around it. Worth knowing either way: the RRB sets its computer-based tests in Hindi, English and several regional languages, while the CBAT is conducted in English and Hindi only.

How much internet does it need?

Almost never. The questions are on your phone, so you can practise on a train, in a village with no signal, on a phone with no data pack. The app checks in with us about once a week to confirm your access is still active — a few seconds, a few kilobytes. That's also when your progress is saved online and when replies to any questions you've asked come through. If you're offline for longer than that, nothing is lost — you just reconnect when you can.

When is the next ALP recruitment, and where do I apply?

Only on the Railway Recruitment Boards' own portal, rrbapply.gov.in — never through an agent and never through us. The RRBs publish each recruitment as a Centralised Employment Notification (CEN) on the RRB websites. CEN 01/2026 was the most recent ALP notification, with applications closing on 14 June 2026. Check rrbapply.gov.in for the current cycle.

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Start now

Three subjects, one of them a skill.

Start training Mental Ability today — free.

Free to try.

www.mastermentalability.in/rrb-alp