The Supreme Court has directed Indian Railways to extend travel insurance to passengers purchasing tickets at railway station counters from October 27, 2026, making the Railway Board directly accountable for implementing the order.

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan issued the direction on October 6 while examining a plea filed after the June 2023 Odisha train accident. The petition sought an inquiry into the crash, alleging that the failure to implement the Kavach train protection system had contributed to the tragedy. It also called for the safety system to be rolled out across the railway network.

“Coming to the issue of insurance coverage, at present, only persons purchasing tickets online are provided the benefit of insurance coverage upon payment of a nominal additional amount. The Court has granted sufficient time to the authorities to devise a mechanism for extending such coverage to persons belonging to the lowest strata of society, who, in most cases, purchase their tickets at the railway reservation counters while undertaking journeys by train. As there has been no progress on this aspect either, we direct that within two weeks, i.e., 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 aforesaid direction shall be implemented mandatorily, failing which the responsibility shall be directly upon the Railway Board,” the order said.

During the proceedings, the court widened its scrutiny to include several passenger safety concerns, such as the construction of foot overbridges, fencing along railway tracks and the absence of insurance coverage for tickets bought offline.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the Railways' response to its earlier directions, observing that assurances given to the court had not translated into meaningful improvements on the ground. It also flagged the underutilisation of budgetary allocations earmarked for passenger safety.

The court had previously asked the Railway Board to submit details of measures taken to improve safety, including the expansion of Kavach, construction of foot overbridges and fencing of tracks. It directed the authorities to provide evidence of progress and explain whether dedicated funding had been committed to these projects.

On October 6, the bench voiced strong displeasure with the Ministry of Railways over what it described as a failure to adequately address basic safety requirements. It initially directed the Railway Board chairman and members to appear personally before it to explain the lack of progress, warning that it would take a serious view if the Railways continued to offer assurances without corresponding action.

Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee, appearing for the Centre, sought two weeks to file a detailed affidavit outlining the work undertaken over the preceding year and explaining why prescribed targets, particularly for track fencing, had not been met. The court accepted the request and deferred its order requiring the Railway Board's top officials to appear.

The bench also took up the issue of insurance for passengers buying tickets at railway counters, noting that the authorities had been given adequate time to devise a mechanism to extend the facility to economically disadvantaged travellers who often rely on offline bookings.

It observed that no meaningful progress had been made despite the Centre informing the court on May 11 that a decision had been taken to extend insurance to counter tickets and that the implementation details were being worked out.

Directing the Railways to ensure parity between online and offline bookings, the court said all tickets sold at railway stations must carry insurance coverage on the same terms as tickets purchased online, with effect from October 27.

The bench made compliance mandatory and placed direct responsibility for any failure to implement the direction on the Railway Board.

The matter will next be heard on November 16.

Reacting to the order, Manas Kapoor, business head of travel insurance at Policybazaar, said that making insurance mandatory for all train travellers is a welcome step towards strengthening passenger safety and financial protection in India.