Parliament Question: Standing Committee on Railways' Recommendation

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2762 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 STANDING COMMITTEE ON RAILWAYS' RECOMMENDATION 2762. SHRI MATHESWARAN V S: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposed to frame stringent guidelines for issuing of complimentary tickets in luxury trains to prevent possible misuse of public money as per the guidelines of Standing Committee on Railways' recommendation (24th Report of 2018-19) and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the reasons/basis on which officers are selected for the complimentary travel in luxury trains; and (c) the details of railway officials along with name, designation and class of travel who availed complimentary travel in luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Maharaja’s Express and Deccan Odyssey from 2021 to till date? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): Senior Railway officials who are involved in policy making, operations, safety, assessment and improvement of services and facilities onboard and at stations enroute, maintenance of tracks, rolling stocks and other assets etc. are allowed to travel in the tourist trains as per the extant guidelines in a very limited numbers subject to availability. The details of Railway officials travelled in Palace on Wheels, Maharajas’ Express and Deccan Odyssey trains during last 5 years in accordance with extant guidelines are as under: § Page 1 of 2Palace on Wheels: Total Passengers travelled (nos.) Railway officials travelled (nos.) 2463 49 (1.99%) Maharajas’ Express: Total Passengers travelled (nos.) Railway officials travelled (nos.) 4715 50 (1.06%) Deccan Odyssey: Total Passengers travelled (nos.) Railway officials travelled (nos.) 2783 10 (0.36%) ***** Page 2 of 2