The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 1,866 crore Productivity-Linked Bonus for more than 10.9 lakh railway staff to recognise and reward their work.
Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said the decision recognises the “excellent performance” of railway staff. The bonus payout will cover the equivalent of 78 days of wages.
As per the PLB rules, the maximum bonus for each employee has been capped at ₹17,951. It will be paid out before the festive season, providing financial relief to the lakhs of employees and their families.
“The performance of Railways in the year 2024-25 was very good. Railways loaded a record cargo of 1614.90 Million Tonnes and carried nearly 7.3 billion passengers,” Vaishnaw stated.
The bonus will be given to non-gazetted railway employees from different categories, including track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers, station masters, supervisors, technicians, helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other Group ‘C’ workers.
The bonus comes just ahead of Dusshera, Diwali, and the upcoming elections in Bihar, scheduled for later this year. In 2024, the Union Government had approved ₹2,029 crore for railway employees to support 11,72,240 workers.
Vaishnaw added that the Union Cabinet has also approved projects worth ₹94,000–95,000 crore.
“The Prime Minister has taken some very historic decisions. In today’s cabinet meeting, approvals worth around ₹94,000–95,000 crore were granted across multiple sectors. For our railways, the Bakhtiyarpur–Rajgir–Tilaiya line has been approved for doubling. Until now, it was a single line, which limited capacity. With the doubling, its capacity will increase substantially,” said Vaishnaw.
