Cabinet clears productivity-linked bonus for nearly 11 lakh railway staff; check maximum amount

In a festive season boost for railway staff, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the payment of a productivity-linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for the financial year 2024-25 to over 10.91 lakh non-gazetted railway employees.

"The cabinet has approved a productivity-linked bonus. Under the Prime Minister’s leadership, a 78-day bonus worth ₹1,866 crore has been cleared, benefiting 10,90,000 railway employees," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a cabinet briefing.

The decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will involve an outlay of ₹1,865.68 crore, an official statement said.

The bonus, which will be disbursed ahead of the Durga Puja/Dussehra holidays, is aimed at recognising the “excellent performance” of railway personnel and motivating them to work towards improvement in the performance of the Railways.

The maximum amount payable to each eligible employee is ₹17,951.

The beneficiaries include track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff and other Group ‘C’ employees, the government said.

The Railways recorded a robust performance in 2024-25, loading a record 1,614.90 million tonnes of freight and carrying nearly 7.3 billion passengers, the statement added.

"This achievement is the result of reforms and capacity improvements in Indian Railways," Vaishnaw said.

Payment of PLB to railway staff is an annual practice before the festive season, which acts as an incentive to drive operational efficiency and service improvements across the network.

In a separate decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the doubling of the Bakhtiyarpur–Rajgir–Tilaiya single railway line section in Bihar at an estimated cost of ₹2,192 crore.

The project covering four districts of Bihar will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 104 km.