Passengers buying eligible tickets at railway reservation counters will be able to access optional insurance from 27 October, matching cover already offered through IRCTC’s digital platforms.
Indian Railways is set to extend its optional travel insurance scheme to passengers buying tickets at reservation counters from October 27, after a Supreme Court order pushed the state-run transporter to bring offline bookings in line with online ones. The move is intended to widen access to cover that was previously available only to passengers booking through the IRCTC website or mobile app, especially for travellers who do not use digital platforms or come from lower-income households.
According to the existing arrangement, passengers who buy eligible tickets online can choose whether to pay for insurance, with the premium fixed at ₹0.45 per person, including taxes, from February 17, 2024. The policy offers ₹10 lakh in the event of death or permanent total disability, ₹7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, up to ₹2 lakh for hospitalisation expenses and ₹10,000 for transporting mortal remains.
The Supreme Court issued the direction on October 6 while hearing a petition linked to a train accident in Odisha, according to reports in The Times of India, Business Standard and Moneycontrol. The bench, comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan, also considered broader safety concerns raised in the case, including questions around the rollout of the Kavach train protection system. The court said passengers who buy tickets at counters should not be denied the same protection available to online customers, and it placed direct responsibility for compliance on the Railway Board.
Even so, key implementation details remain unresolved. The Railways has not yet said how the premium will be collected at station counters or how the scheme will work in practice for offline passengers. Reports say the Railway Board has been given two weeks to put the order into effect, leaving the operator with a short window to settle procedures before the new deadline takes hold.
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