Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 2026: Railway Board Notification No. G.S.R.23(E) dated 12.01.2026
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(Railway Board)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 12th January, 2026
G.S.R. 23(E).––In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 of the constitution, the President hereby makes the following rules, namely:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title and commencement.-(1) These rules may be called the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 2026.
(2) Save as otherwise provided, in these rules , –
(a) rules 1 to 30 and rules 33 to 64 and rules 66 to 87 shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
(b) rules 31, 32 and 65 shall be deemed to have been come into force with effect from the 20th day of December, 2021;
2. Application.– (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in these rules, these rules shall apply to the following railway servants, namely:-
(a) any Group ‘D’ railway servant whose service was pensionable before the introduction of Pension System for Railway Servants on the 16th day of November, 1957;
(b) any non-pensionable railway servants who were in service on the 16th day of November, 1957 and who elected to be governed by these rules;
(c) any non-pensionable railway servant who were in service on the 1st day of January, 1986 and did not opt to be governed by the State Railway Provident Fund (Contributory) Rules; and
(d) any person entering a railway service on or after the 16th day of November, 1957, except a person who is appointed on contract or re-employed after superannuation or whose terms of appointment specifically provide to the contrary.
Provided that these rules shall not apply to,-
(i) railway servants appointed on or after the 1st day of January, 2004;
(ii) persons in casual and daily rated employment ;
(iii) persons paid from contingencies ;
(iv) persons entitled to the benefit of a State Railway Provident Fund (Contributory);
(v) persons employed on contract except when the contract provides otherwise;
(vi) persons whose terms and conditions of service are regulated by or under the provisions of the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force; and
(vii) persons employed to work on payment of a fee or honorarium.
(2) These rules shall also apply to,-
(a) a railway servant who was put on induction training on or before the 31st day of December, 2003 followed by appointment on regular basis after the 31st day of December, 2003:
Provided that –
(i) completion of the induction training was an essential condition for appointment on regular basis to the post;
(ii) the railway servant was eligible for a salary or a stipend during the period of such training; and
(iii) the period of training was eligible for being counted as qualifying service in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993.
(b) a railway servant who was initially appointed on or before the 31st day of December, 2003,-
(i) in an establishment or Department of the Central Government whose employees were covered by a pension scheme other than the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993; or
(ii) in a State Government or an autonomous body under the Central Government or State Government having a noncontributory pension scheme similar to the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993,
and was subsequently appointed after 31st December, 2003 under Railways to which these rules apply, subject to the condition that the said railway servant fulfils all other conditions for counting of service rendered in such establishment of the Central Government or the State Government or autonomous body, in accordance with these rules or any general or special order issued in this regard;
(c) a railway servant appointed after 31st December, 2003 to a railway service or post and if he fulfills the conditions for coverage under these rules in accordance with any special or general order issued by the Government in this regard.
(d) substitutes who were regularly appointed in railway service after 31st December, 2003 but were conferred temporary status on or before 31st December, 2003 in accordance with prevailing instructions notified by Ministry of Railways and such temporary status is followed without interruption by regular appointment in railway service.
(e) the cases where in the event of death or discharge from service on the ground of invalidation in the case of a railway servant who, having been appointed to Railway services and posts after 31st December, 2003, is covered by the Railway Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2025, the benefits of Invalid pension under rule 39 and Family pension under rule 50 shall be payable to the Railway servant or his family, as the case may be, if the Railway servant had exercised an option to this effect under rule 10 of the Railway Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2025 or in whose case the default option is for availing benefits under these rules;
(f) in the case of Railway servants appointed in temporary capacity to railway services and posts on or before the 31st day of December, 2003, who retired or were retired before having been appointed in a substantive capacity, the benefits under these rules shall be payable to the railway servant to the extent provided in rule 18 of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993. 3. (a)
3. Definitions.– (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) “Accounts Officer” means a Principal Financial Advisor of a Railway or such other officers as may be appointed in this behalf by the Railway Board;
(b) “allottee” means a railway servant to whom railway accommodation or Government accommodation, as the case may be, has been allotted on payment of license fee or otherwise;
(c) “average emoluments” means average emoluments as determined in accordance with rule 32;
(d). “Child” means a son or daughter of a railway servant who is eligible to receive death gratuity under rule 45 or family pension under rule 50 and the expression `children’ shall be construed accordingly;
(e) “Code” means the Indian Railway Establishment Code, as amended from time to time;
(f) “Dearness Relief” means a dearness relief on pension and family pension as specified in rule 52;
(g) “Defence Service” means services under the Government of India in the Ministry of Defence including the Defence Accounts Department, paid out of the Civil Estimates of the Ministry of Defence and not subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950) or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957);
(h) “family pension” means family pension admissible under rule 50 but does not include dearness relief;
(i) “foreign service” means service in which a railway servant receives his pay with the sanction of the Government from any source other than the Consolidated Fund of India or the Consolidated Fund of a State or the Consolidated Fund of a Union territory;
(j) “Form” means the forms appended to these rules;
(k) “Format” means a format appended to these rules;
(l) “Government” means the Central Government;
(m) “gratuity” includes-
(i) ‘service gratuity’ payable under rule 44;
(ii) retirement gratuity or death gratuity payable under sub-rule (1) of rule 45;
(iii) ‘residuary gratuity’ payable under sub-rule (3) of rule 45;
(n) “Head of Department” means any authority whom the President may, by order, declare to be the Head of a Department for the purpose of these rules;
(o) “Head of Office” means a Gazetted officer whom the appointing authority may, by order declare as Head of Office and includes such other authority or person whom the appointing authority may specify in the like manner;
(p) “Integrated Payroll and Accounting Service” means the online system for sanctioning retirement benefits;
(q) “local fund administered by Government” means the Fund administered by a body which, by law or rule having the force of law, comes under the control of the Government and over whose expenditure the Government retains complete and direct control;
(r) “minor” means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years;
(s) “pension” includes gratuity except when the term pension is used in contradistinction to gratuity, but does not include dearness relief;
(t) “pension disbursing authority” means-
(a) banks selected in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India for payment of pension to railway pensioners; or
(b) Post Office; or
(c) Treasury including sub-treasury; or
(d) Accounts officer;
(u) “Pension Payment Order” includes e-Pension Payment Order;
(v) “qualifying service” means service rendered while on duty or otherwise which shall be taken into account for the purpose of pensions and gratuities admissible under these rules;
(w) “railway servant” means a person who is a member of a railway service or holds a post under the administrative control of the Railway Board and includes a person who is holding the post of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Member (Finance) or a Member of the Railway Board but does not include casual labour or person lent from a service or post which is not under the administrative control of the Railway Board to a service or post which is under such administrative control;
(x) “retirement benefits” includes pension or service gratuity and retirement gratuity where admissible;
(y) “service book” includes service roll, if any;
(z) “substitutes” means a person engaged against a regular, permanent or temporary post by reason of absence on leave or otherwise of a permanent or temporary railway servant and such substitute shall not be deemed to be a railway servant unless he is absorbed in the regular railway service; and
(za) “Treasury” includes a sub-treasury.
(2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Code shall have the same meaning respectively assigned to them in the Code.
4. Railway servants transferred from services and posts to which these rules do not apply.– (1) A Government servant whose service is pensionable under the Central Government shall become subject to these rules if he is permanently transferred to a railway service on or after the first day of April, 1957.
(2) Where sub-rule (1) applies, any amount paid by such Government servant to the General Provident Fund or any other non-contributory Provident Fund while in previous employment, alongwith the interest thereon standing to his credit shall be transferred to his new account in the State Railway Provident Fund (non- contributory).
(3) The previous service rendered by such Government servant shall be taken into account for the purpose of these rules to the extent permissible under these rules.
(4) A temporary Government servant who has been or is likely to be retrenched from Civil Department and succeeds in securing employment in railway service while on terminal leave or before their services are actually terminated, shall also be treated as having been transferred.
COMMENTS