Image Source : PTI (FILE) Central government employees can now use over 380 premium trains under LTC travel.
The Ministry of Railways has made significant strides in improving the travel experience for government employees by expanding the number of trains available under Leave Travel Concession (LTC). The Central government has issued an order allowing its employees to travel on Tejas, Vande Bharat, and Humsafar express trains under the Leave Travel Concession scheme in a move aimed at providing more convenient and faster travel options for them to visit their hometown or go for holidays to tourist destinations during leave.
Now, government employees can travel on 385 premium trains which includes-
136 Vande Bharat
97 Humsafar
8 Tejas Express trains
144 existing high-end trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto
As per details, the government employees were already availing luxurious AC travel in 144 existing high-end trains in the category of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and 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.
Railways aims to provide employees access to world-class travel options
This expansion, announced by the Department of Personnel & Training, is aimed at providing all central government employees access to world-class travel options. Under the new guidelines, employees can travel to their hometown or any destination in India while utilising their LTC.
“In the short & medium-distance Rail travel in Vande Bharat, Tejas and Shatabdi express trains, employees can avail of chair car travel up to level 11. Employees at level 12 & above are entitled to executive chair car travel in these trains. For long distance travel, where coaches have berths i.e., Rajdhani-type luxurious trains, employees at level 12 and above can avail AC 2st class travel. From level 6 to 11, employees can avail AC 2nd class travel while all others i.e. level 5 & below can avail AC 3rd Class travel during their LTC,” the details said.
What is LTC?
LTC, which is a concessional travel facility, allows government employees to travel to their hometown or anywhere in India during a four-year block period. Employees can claim LTC for their hometown twice in two years, or for a mix of their hometown and other locations over the four years.
The LTC scheme for government employees is a prerequisite which covers the cost of travel to visit their hometown or any destination within India over a four-year block period. The scheme offers government employees and their family members two options. They can avail of travel reimbursement to their hometown twice within a four-year block, split into two two-year periods. The other alternative they have is to visit their hometown once in a two-year period and go for a holiday to any place in India within the other two-year period.
Know more about LTC-
As part of the scheme’s provisions, government employees can choose between two options-
Avail Home Town LTC twice within a four-year block, split into two two-year periods.
They can visit their hometown once in a two-year period and explore any place in India during the other two-year period.
The Centre now covers the travel expenses for the employee and their eligible family members under this scheme. Moreover, the employees and their families can travel in separate groups at different times during the block period. They may also choose different destinations while using the Any Place in India LTC option.
