Passengers booking reserved tickets at railway counters and through other offline channels will be able to access the same optional travel insurance as online customers from October 27.
Indian Railways will extend its optional travel insurance cover to passengers buying reserved tickets at station counters and through other offline channels, after a Supreme Court order pushed the facility beyond the online booking system where it was previously available. The Railway Board has told zonal railways to put the change in place by October 27 and to make sure passengers are clearly told that the cover is available.
The move brings counter bookings into the same insurance framework that has long applied to reserved e-tickets. According to the Indian Express report, the premium remains 45 paise per ticket and the existing terms and conditions for online passengers will also apply to travellers who book in person.
Railway staff have been instructed to collect the insurance premium digitally only, even when the ticket itself is purchased at a counter. The Board also said reservation staff must record the passenger’s mobile number, which is mandatory, together with the rest of the required details so the information can be passed on accurately to the insurer for policy issuance.
The latest direction follows the Supreme Court’s intervention on access to travel cover for rail passengers who prefer offline booking. Livemint reported that the court’s order was intended to give counter-ticket passengers the same protection already available to online customers, reflecting a broader push to align the two booking systems on passenger safeguards.
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