The Central government has authorised government employees to utilise Tejas, Vande Bharat, and Humsafar trains for Leave Travel Concession (LTC) purposes.
Government employees now have the option to travel in a total of 385 trains, including 136 Vande Bharat, 97 Humsafar, and 8 Tejas Express trains. Prior to this, they were able to enjoy luxurious AC travel in 144 high-end trains in the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto series. This decision will provide government employees with more options for booking LTC travel across all regions of the country.
This decision was made following numerous requests received by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) regarding the eligibility of premium trains for LTC reimbursement.
“Government employees across all strata can now avail a world class travel experience in state-of-the-art Vande Bharat, Tejas & Humsafar expresses, while availing their Leave Travel Concession, LTC. With this decision, all the central government employees can now access the services of 241 additional trains while utilizing their Leave Travel Concession (LTC). They can now travel in 136 Vande Bharat, 97 Humsafar and 8 Tejas Express trains. Government Employees were already availing luxurious AC travel in 144 existing high-end trains in the category of Rajdhani, Shatabdi & Duronto series. With this decision, there will be a total 385 trains across all the regions of the country where they are operating in which tickets can be booked for LTC travel by the government employees,” the notification said.
Employees at Level 11 and below may utilise chair car travel on short and medium-distance rail journeys aboard Vande Bharat, Tejas, and Shatabdi express trains. Those at Level 12 and above are eligible for executive chair car accommodations on these trains.
For long-distance trips on trains with berths, such as Rajdhani-type luxury trains, employees at Level 12 and above can opt for AC 2nd class travel. Employees ranked from Level 6 to 11 have the option of AC 2nd class travel, while those at Level 5 and below are entitled to AC 3rd class travel for their LTC travels.
LTC is a discounted travel benefit provided to Government employees, allowing them to travel anywhere in India for a duration of up to four years. Eligible Central government employees are entitled to ticket reimbursement for round trips as well as paid leave under the LTC scheme.
As per the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, employees have the flexibility to avail Home town LTC twice every two years, visit their hometown once within a two-year period, and explore any destination in India within another two years.