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 (LTC) 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.

According to the new order issued this week, employees can now use these premium trains in addition to the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto trains, based on their travel entitlement

This decision was announced by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) after receiving many requests from various government offices and individuals. The DoPT has worked out the new rules in consultation with the Department of Expenditure before issuing the final order.

Central government employees get their ticket costs reimbursed for round trips under the leave travel concession (LTC scheme) in accordance with their entitlement depending on their rank and pay scale.

Although some premium trains such as the Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi, and Duronto were covered under the scheme, the Tejas and Vande Bharat trains, which were introduced more recently, were outside the ambit of the scheme.

“The matter has been examined by this department in consultation with the Department of Expenditure and it has been decided that apart from existing Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains, travel by Tejas Express, Vande Bharat Express and Humsafar Express trains under LTC as per the entitlement of the government employees has now been allowed,” the DoPT order states.

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.