Counter train tickets will now come with travel insurance. The Supreme Court has ordered Indian Railways to extend the same ₹10 lakh cover that online buyers get to all over-the-counter tickets from October 27, 2026 — and made the Railway Board directly responsible.
Updated: October 15, 2026, 11:05 IST
Quick Read
- SC bench (Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan) ordered on October 6: all counter-sold tickets must carry insurance from October 27, 2026.
- Cover mirrors the online scheme: up to ₹10 lakh for death or permanent disability, ₹7.5 lakh for partial disability, ₹2 lakh for hospitalisation.
- Online buyers pay 45 paise per passenger; how the premium works at counters is still to be announced — the Railway Board must publish the mechanism.
Till now, travel insurance on Indian Railways was a privilege of the internet-savvy. If you booked on IRCTC, you could tick a box, pay 45 paise, and get up to ₹10 lakh of accident cover. If you stood in a queue at the reservation counter — as crores of passengers do every day — you got nothing. The Supreme Court has now erased that divide.
What the court ordered
On October 6, a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan directed that “with effect from 27.10.2026, all tickets sold over the counter at all railway stations shall also be covered by insurance in the same manner as tickets purchased online.”
The order is mandatory, not a suggestion. The court said failure to implement it would make the Railway Board directly responsible. The direction came on a plea filed after the June 2023 Odisha train accident, which had also raised questions about the Kavach safety system, foot overbridges and fencing along tracks. The bench recorded its “utter disappointment and displeasure at the conduct of the officers of the Ministry of Railways in such a serious matter concerning the safety of the common man,” The Hindu reported.
The court’s reasoning was plain. The passengers who buy tickets at counters are mostly from the lowest income groups — people who can’t book online. There was, the bench said, no justification for giving insurance to online buyers while denying it to them.
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How much cover you get
The cover mirrors the existing IRCTC online scheme (CNBC TV18, Business Today). Per passenger:
- Death or permanent total disability: ₹10 lakh
- Permanent partial disability: up to ₹7.5 lakh
- Hospitalisation expenses for injury: up to ₹2 lakh
- Transportation of mortal remains: ₹10,000
The online premium is 45 paise per passenger, inclusive of taxes (since February 17, 2024). Whether counter buyers will also pay 45 paise, or whether the Railways will absorb it, is the big unanswered question — the Railway Board still has to publish the mechanism. One honest caveat: don’t assume the price until the notification comes.
How claims work — the online model
The counter-ticket claims process will follow the same template. Here’s how it works for online tickets today, which tells you what to expect:
- Opt in and nominate. On IRCTC, you tick the insurance box while booking. The insurer then sends a policy link by SMS/email, and you must update your nominee details on the insurer’s website. Nomination is mandatory — without it, claims go to legal heirs, which takes much longer.
- Report to the insurer, not IRCTC. In case of an accident, you or your nominee contact the insurance company directly (IRCTC isn’t part of the claim process). Online policies are issued through insurers such as Shriram General Insurance, ICICI Lombard and Royal Sundaram, the Economic Times reported.
- File within four months. You need the railway authority’s accident report, the claim form, ID proof, medical or death/disability certificates, and bank details (NEFT + cancelled cheque).
- Settlement. Claims are typically settled within about 15 days of complete documentation, according to the Economic Times.
Keep your ticket and the policy SMS safe — the claim is tied to your PNR.
What changes for counter-ticket buyers
In practice, from October 27, the ticket you buy at the station window should automatically come with this accident cover — the same protection online buyers have had for years. For a family travelling to a wedding or a migrant worker heading home for Diwali, that ₹10 lakh cover costs less than a rupee today. The scale matters: counter bookings run into crores of tickets a year.
There are limits worth knowing. The online scheme doesn’t cover waitlisted tickets, children below 5 travelling without a berth, or foreign tourists booking through international portals. It also doesn’t cover medical treatment that wasn’t medically necessary. Expect similar exclusions in the counter version — read the fine print when the Railway Board publishes it.
What is still unclear
Two things remain genuinely open. First, the premium mechanics at counters — will the clerk ask for 45 paise extra, or will the fare absorb it? Second, how nomination will work for passengers who book at windows without a mobile number on record. The court gave the Railways two weeks; the notification should answer both.
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Why this happened now
This didn’t come out of nowhere. On May 11, the Centre had assured the court that a decision to extend insurance to offline tickets “has been taken” and “modalities are being worked out.” By October 6, the court found no real progress — and ran out of patience. The bench widened the case from the Odisha accident to passenger safety at large: Kavach rollout, foot overbridges, track fencing, and the use of safety budgets. It has asked the Railways to file details of actual on-ground progress on those three within two months.
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The October 27 deadline is 12 days away. The Railway Board must now move fast — this time, the court is watching.
FAQ
From which date will counter train tickets get insurance?
From October 27, 2026. The Supreme Court ordered on October 6 that all tickets sold over the counter at railway stations must carry insurance in the same manner as online tickets.
How much is the cover, and what does it cost?
Up to ₹10 lakh for death or permanent total disability, ₹7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, ₹2 lakh for hospitalisation, and ₹10,000 for transportation of mortal remains. Online buyers pay a 45 paise premium per passenger; the counter-ticket premium mechanism is yet to be announced.
How do I claim the insurance after an accident?
Contact the insurance company directly (not IRCTC), file within four months with the railway authority’s accident report, claim form, ID proof, medical/death certificates and bank details. Nomination via the policy SMS link is mandatory for fast settlement.
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