A big gift for railway employees ahead of Diwali: they will receive a 78-day bonus..

There is great news for railway employees. The government has announced a bonus for over 1.1 million (11 lakh) employees. According to reports, this bonus will be equivalent to 78 days of wages, and the government will incur an expenditure of Rs 2,009 crore for this purpose. This announcement was made by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw himself. Let us look at the details of the government's announcement for railway employees.

A major announcement for railway employees
In recognition of the excellent performance of railway employees, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days of wages for 1,140,770 railway employees, amounting to Rs 2,009.61 crore. Eligible railway employees are paid this PLB annually, ahead of the Durga Puja/Dussehra holidays. This year as well, approximately 1.14 million (11.40 lakh) non-gazetted railway employees will receive a PLB amount equivalent to 78 days of wages.

Payment per employee
Each eligible railway employee will receive a maximum payment of Rs 17,951 for the 78 days. This bonus will be provided to various categories of railway staff, including track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other Group ‘C’ personnel. The railways performed exceptionally well during the 2025-26 period, handling a record 1,670 million tonnes of cargo and transporting approximately 7.41 billion passengers.

Current PLB structure for railway employees
The existing PLB calculation is based on a wage ceiling of Rs 7,000 and a duration of 78 days, which results in a bonus of Rs 17,951 for non-gazetted railway employees. The Indian Railways Technical Supervisors Association (IRTSA) has demanded that the wage ceiling for employees at Level 2 and above be raised to ₹18,000, plus Dearness Allowance (DA), in proportion to their higher pay levels. The association has argued that the current ceiling needs to be revised, given that the minimum wage for unskilled workers is ₹21,000. Based on this ₹18,000 threshold, it has recommended increasing the annual bonus to at least ₹46,184.

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