In a major relief for railway employees amid rising inflation, the Railway Board has officially included 155 trains, including several Vande Bharat services, under the high-speed train category. The decision will benefit loco pilots, assistant loco pilots, and train managers by providing them with special high-speed allowances and higher monthly salaries.

According to Railway Board officials, the move will significantly increase the earnings of running staff working in premium and semi-high-speed trains across the country.

Running Staff to Receive Special High-Speed Allowance

With the new classification, railway employees operating these trains will now receive additional financial benefits for handling high-speed operations. Officials said the monthly salary of running staff could increase by ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 depending on duty hours and train operations.

The new policy covers several categories of trains including:

• Shatabdi Express
• Rajdhani Express
• Duronto Express
• Humsafar Express
• Tejas Express
• Vande Bharat Express

Major Trains Included Under High-Speed Category

Some of the prominent trains included in the revised list are:

Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi Trains

• Bhopal–New Delhi Shatabdi
• Lucknow–New Delhi Shatabdi
• Amritsar–New Delhi Shatabdi
• Patna–Howrah Jan Shatabdi
• Chennai–Coimbatore Shatabdi
• Howrah–Bhubaneswar Jan Shatabdi

Rajdhani Express Trains

• Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani
• Bhubaneswar–New Delhi Rajdhani
• Chennai–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani
• Ahmedabad Rajdhani
• Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani

Duronto Express Trains

• Pune–Howrah Duronto
• Secunderabad–Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto
• New Delhi–Bhubaneswar Duronto
• Howrah–New Delhi Duronto

Tejas and Vande Bharat Trains

• Mumbai–Goa Tejas Express
• Madurai–Chennai Tejas
• Bhubaneswar–Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat
• Rourkela–Howrah Vande Bharat
• Howrah–Puri Vande Bharat
• Bhopal–New Delhi Vande Bharat
• Chennai–Vijayawada Vande Bharat

Allowances Increased for Loco Pilots and Guards

As per the revised structure issued by the Railway Board:

• Loco pilots will now receive ₹606 per 100 kilometres instead of the earlier ₹485.
• Guards and train managers will receive ₹549 per 100 kilometres compared to the earlier ₹439.

Officials said the increase reflects the higher responsibility and operational challenges involved in running trains at speeds between 130 kmph and 160 kmph.

Why the Decision Was Taken

Railway authorities stated that operating high-speed trains requires greater concentration, faster response time, and higher technical efficiency. Despite these trains already running at high speeds for several years, many of them had not been officially categorized under the high-speed class.

As a result, staff members working on these routes were not receiving the corresponding allowances earlier. The latest decision aims to recognize their performance and compensate them for the demanding nature of high-speed train operations.