78-day bonus for railway staff: Cabinet clears Rs 2,010 crore payout for 11.4 lakh employees

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has approved a Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) of 78 days' wages worth Rs 2,009.61 crore for around 11.41 lakh eligible railway employees, recognising the Railways' performance in 2025-26.The maximum bonus payable to each eligible employee is Rs 17,951. The bonus will cover non-gazetted employees across categories, including track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers, station masters, supervisors, technicians and other Group C staff.The annual bonus is paid ahead of the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays to incentivise railway employees and improve operational performance.The Railways recorded freight loading of 1,670 million tonnes and carried nearly 7.41 billion passengers in 2025-26, according to the government.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.