Key Details
The Cabinet’s approval sets the 2025–26 Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) payment for eligible railway staff; “78 days” describes the wage-equivalent used to calculate the bonus, not additional leave.
Measure | 2025–26 approval |
|---|---|
Employees covered | 11,40,770 non-gazetted railway employees |
Total payment | ₹2,009.61 crore |
Maximum per employee | ₹17,951 |
Railway activity cited by the government | 1,670 million tonnes of freight loaded and nearly 7.41 billion passenger journeys |
The Award Covers Operational and Support Staff
Eligible employees include track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers, station masters, supervisors, technicians, pointsmen and other Group C staff. The government says the annual payment recognises their contribution to railway performance and is made before the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays.
The Bonus Rate Is Unchanged, but Coverage Has Risen
The Cabinet also approved a 78-day bonus capped at ₹17,951 for 2024–25. This year’s approval covers about 49,600 more employees, and the total payout is about ₹144 crore higher. Thus, the larger expenditure reflects wider coverage, not an increase in the stated number of bonus days or the individual cap.
Policy Relevance
This is an annual workforce payment, not a new railway scheme. Its immediate effect is on eligible employees and the Railways’ wage expenditure. The government cites record freight loading and passenger traffic as context for the award; those system-wide volumes do not, by themselves, explain how the bonus amount was calculated or measure each employee’s productivity.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What operational measures, alongside freight and passenger volumes, best show whether the Railways’ productivity-linked bonus is tracking improvements in service and efficiency?
Follow the Full Press Release Here: Cabinet Approves Productivity Linked Bonus for 78 Days to Railway Employees