On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, announced a bonus for railway employees. Equivalent to 78 days’ wages, this bonus will benefit over 11 lakh railway employees. It will be awarded based on performance and entails an expenditure of ₹2,009.61 crore.
A government statement noted, “The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the payment of a 78-day Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) to 11,40,770 railway employees, amounting to ₹2,009.61 crore, in recognition of their outstanding performance.”
The PLB is paid to eligible railway employees annually before the Durga Puja/Dussehra holidays. This year, too, approximately 11.40 lakh non-gazetted railway employees are receiving a PLB amount equivalent to 78 days’ wages. The PLB serves to motivate railway employees to enhance the operational efficiency of the railways.
Each eligible railway employee will receive a maximum payment of ₹17,951 for the 78-day period. This amount will be disbursed to employees across various categories, including track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other Group ‘C’ employees. The railways demonstrated excellent performance during the year; they loaded a record 167 crore tonnes of cargo and transported approximately 7.41 billion passengers.
Meanwhile, in August 2026, Indian Railways recorded a 5.4 per cent year-on-year increase in freight loading. Passenger numbers also rose during the month, reflecting the sustained demand for rail-based transport across the country. The national transporter hauled 137 million tonnes of freight in August 2026, compared to 131 million tonnes in the same month last year. Freight revenue also saw a year-on-year increase of 6.27 per cent during the month.
