The RRB Group D cut off for RRB Chennai in the last cycle (CEN 08/2024) was 78.00694 out of 100 for UR candidates, 76.65663 for OBC, 71.11270 for EWS, 70.63490 for SC and 63.00000 for ST. These are normalised marks, and they decided who was called for the physical test. The cut-off for the current cycle, CEN 09/2025, will be published with its result, which had not been declared as of 11 October 2026.
RRB Chennai cut-off for CEN 08/2024 (official)
RRB Chennai published these PET-shortlist cut-offs in its notice of 1 July 2026 (copy of the notice). The posts column is Southern Railway's share of the 32,438 vacancies in that notice (zone-wise table reported by Jagran Josh).
Category | Cut-off (normalised marks, out of 100) | Southern Railway posts |
|---|---|---|
UR | 78.00694 | 1,089 |
OBC | 76.65663 | 698 |
EWS | 71.11270 | 279 |
SC | 70.63490 | 397 |
ST | 63.00000 | 228 |
Total | 2,694 |
The five category figures add up to 2,691; 2,694 is the total as printed in the notice's own vacancy table.
Many sites call this the "Group D 2025" cut-off, because the CEN 08/2024 CBT ran from 27 November 2025 to 10 February 2026; its result came on 1 July 2026 (reported). If you wrote the exam in August 2026, you are in CEN 09/2025 and your cut-off is still to come.
What the RRB Group D cut off actually decides
The cut-off is not a pass mark. It is the normalised score of the last candidate in each category who made the PET list for that railway.
PET shortlist: candidates are called for the Physical Efficiency Test at three times the community-wise vacancies of each railway, in order of CBT merit. Railways can raise or lower this ratio (CEN 09/2025, para 14.2).
Document verification: after the PET, candidates are called at 1:1 to the vacancies, based on CBT merit among those who passed the PET.
Ties: when two candidates have the same marks, the older one ranks higher; if the age is also the same, the given name in A-to-Z order decides.
So scoring above the cut-off gets you to the PET, not into a job. Your CBT marks still decide your rank after the PET.
Why the cut-off has decimals: normalisation
The CBT runs in many shifts, and each shift gets a different question paper. To stop an easy or hard shift from deciding who gets through, RRB converts every candidate's raw score into a normalised score, and the notice says shortlisting at every stage uses these normalised marks whenever the CBT is held in more than one session. That conversion is why RRB Chennai's UR cut-off reads 78.00694 and not a round number. Your raw score from the answer key is a guide, but the normalised score is the one compared with the cut-off.
Minimum qualifying marks and negative marking
The CBT has 100 questions of one mark each in 90 minutes, and one third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer. CEN 09/2025 sets these minimum percentages for being considered at all:
Category | Minimum marks |
|---|---|
UR and EWS | 40% |
OBC (non-creamy layer), SC and ST | 30% |
For PwBD candidates the minimum can be relaxed by 2 marks if there are not enough candidates for the reserved vacancies. The real cut-offs sit far above these minimums: in RRB Chennai's last cycle, even the lowest category cut-off (ST) was 63.
To estimate your raw score, count right and wrong answers from the answer key: 70 right, 12 wrong and 18 skipped gives 70 − 4 = 66 raw marks. Normalisation can then move that up or down.
CEN 09/2025: fewer posts in Southern Railway
CEN 09/2025 has 22,195 posts across India, against 32,438 in CEN 08/2024. Southern Railway's share has fallen more sharply (CEN 09/2025, Annexure B):
Category | CEN 08/2024 posts | CEN 09/2025 posts |
|---|---|---|
UR | 1,089 | 430 |
OBC | 698 | 247 |
EWS | 279 | 108 |
SC | 397 | 155 |
ST | 228 | 96 |
Total | 2,694 | 1,036 |
At three times the vacancies, that means roughly 3,100 PET calls for Southern Railway this time against about 8,100 last time, if RRB keeps the same ratio.
What does that do to the cut-off? A shorter list means that, with everything else equal, the last candidate on it would have a higher score. But everything else is rarely equal: how many candidates chose RRB Chennai, how hard the August papers were and how normalisation works out all move the number. Coaching sites such as ExamAtlas put the number of CEN 09/2025 candidates across India at about 52 lakh. We are not publishing an "expected cut-off", because no one can calculate it honestly before RRB releases the result.
PET standards and what happens next
The PET is qualifying only; it adds no marks. The standards in CEN 09/2025:
Test | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
Lift and carry a weight 100 m in 2 minutes, one chance, without putting it down | 35 kg | 20 kg |
Run 1,000 m, one chance | 4 min 15 s | 5 min 40 s |
The weight carry comes first. If you fail it, you are out at that stage and don't run. PwBD candidates, ex-servicemen and Course Completed Act Apprentices are exempt from the PET, and transgender candidates take the women's standards.
After the PET come document verification and the medical examination. For Southern Railway, PET and DV dates are announced on the RRC Chennai website, www.rrcmas.in. Testbook reports the PET may be held in November 2026; no official date is out.
What to do while you wait
Work out your raw score from the answer key with the one-third deduction, and compare it loosely with the CEN 08/2024 table above. Treat it as a rough guide only.
Start PET training now if you are anywhere near the last cut-off. The 1,000 m run has no second chance.
Get your documents ready: Class 10 certificate, ITI or NAC certificate if that is your qualification, and an SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer) or EWS certificate in the format the notice asks for, if you are claiming reservation.
If you are preparing for the next Group D notice, practise with full-length timed tests and review every wrong answer.
The exam pattern, eligibility and syllabus are in the RRB Group D exam guide and on the RRB Group D syllabus page. If you have Class 12 or a degree, the next level up is NTPC: see RRB NTPC salary for what those posts pay.
Thervu's RRB Group D mock tests are set in Tamil and English and marked the moment you submit, with the same one-third negative marking, so you learn when skipping a question saves you marks.
Frequently asked questions
What was the RRB Group D cut off for RRB Chennai?
In CEN 08/2024, the normalised marks needed to be called for the PET in RRB Chennai were 78.00694 for UR, 76.65663 for OBC, 71.11270 for EWS, 70.63490 for SC and 63.00000 for ST, out of 100.
When will the RRB Group D cut off 2026 be released?
With the CEN 09/2025 result. As of 11 October 2026 the result had not been declared; coaching sites report it is expected in the fourth week of October 2026. RRB publishes the cut-off zone by zone along with the result.
Is the RRB Group D cut off out of 100?
Yes. The CBT has 100 one-mark questions and one third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Cut-offs are given in normalised marks, which is why they carry decimals.
What are the minimum qualifying marks in RRB Group D?
In CEN 09/2025: 40% for UR and EWS, and 30% for OBC (non-creamy layer), SC and ST, relaxable by 2 marks for PwBD candidates if there is a shortage. Clearing the minimum does not get you to the PET; the cut-off does.
Does clearing the cut-off mean I am selected?
No. The cut-off only shortlists candidates for the Physical Efficiency Test, at about three times the vacancies. Selection depends on CBT merit, passing the PET, document verification and the medical test.
Will the RRB Chennai cut-off be higher in 2026 because there are fewer posts?
Nobody can say yet. Southern Railway has 1,036 posts in CEN 09/2025 against 2,694 in CEN 08/2024, so fewer candidates will be called for the PET, but paper difficulty, normalisation and the number of candidates also move the cut-off.
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