New Delhi: In the light of the upcoming festive season, the Central Government has announced a bonus of Rs 2,209 crore for railway employees. The bonus will benefit 11.72 lakh employees, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The amount is equivalent to 78 days of wages for railway employees, and the decision was taken during a special meeting.

The bonus will be distributed to employees working in various departments of the Railways, including track maintainers, loco pilots, guards, station masters, supervisors, technical staff, technical assistants, pointsmen and ministerial staff. The bonus is an incentive aimed at motivating railway employees to continue working towards improving the Railways' performance.

Eligible railway employees receive their bonus each year before the Durga Puja-Dussehra holidays. This year, the bonus amount is equivalent to 78 days wages, benefiting around 12 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees. The maximum bonus amount for each eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.

The performance of the Railways in 2023-2024 has been assessed as very good. The Railways recorded a freight loading of 1,588 million tonnes, a new record and transported approximately 6.7 billion passengers.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also approved a revised Productivity-Linked Reward (PLR) scheme for major port authorities and dock labour boards for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26, benefiting approximately 20,704 employees. This scheme, with a total financial outlay of Rs 200 crore, aims to boost productivity and recognise the efforts of port and dock workers. The Central Government has also approved the revised reward scheme linked to productivity for major port authorities.