Railway Accident Compensation at the Claims Tribunal

If a passenger dies or is injured in a train accident or in an untoward incident on Indian Railways, the family can claim compensation without proving that the railway did anything wrong. Sections 124 and 124A of the Railways Act 1989 impose no-fault liability, so the claimant never has to establish negligence, a wrongful act or default by the railway administration. The scale fixed under the Compensation Rules is Rs 8,00,000 for death and for the gravest injuries. The claim is filed before the Railway Claims Tribunal, free of charge. What you must prove instead is that the event falls inside the statutory definition and that the victim was a passenger as the Act defines it.

Section 124 covers train accidents: a collision between trains of which one carries passengers, or the derailment of or other accident to a train or part of a train carrying passengers. Section 124A covers untoward incidents, which are defined separately. Work through this list first.

1. Did one of the listed events happen? Section 123 clause c defines an untoward incident as the commission of a terrorist act within the meaning of sub-section 1 of section 3 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act 1987, or the making of a violent attack or the commission of robbery or dacoity, or the indulging in rioting, shoot-out or arson. If yes, go to question 2. If no, go to question 3.
2. Where did it happen? Those events count only if committed by any person in or on any train carrying passengers, or in a waiting hall, cloak room or reservation or booking office, or on any platform, or in any other place within the precincts of a railway station. A robbery on the bus to the station is outside the section.
3. Was it a fall from a train? The second limb of the definition is the accidental falling of any passenger from a train carrying passengers. This limb stands entirely on its own. No violence, no crime and no fault by the railway is needed.
4. Was the victim a passenger? The explanation to Section 124A says passenger includes a railway servant on duty, and a person who has purchased a valid ticket for travelling by a train carrying passengers on any date or a valid platform ticket and becomes a victim of an untoward incident. Note the words “on any date”. The ticket anchors the claim.
5. Does an exception apply? The proviso to Section 124A bars compensation where the passenger dies or suffers injury due to: a suicide or attempted suicide by him; b self-inflicted injury; c his own criminal act; d any act committed by him in a state of intoxication or insanity; e any natural cause or disease or medical or surgical treatment, unless that treatment becomes necessary due to injury caused by the said untoward incident. Those five are the only exceptions in the section.
6. Who may apply? Under Section 125: the injured person, an agent duly authorised by that person, the guardian of a minor, or where death has resulted any dependant. Section 123 clause b defines dependant to reach beyond spouse and children to parents, minor brothers, unmarried and widowed sisters, a widowed daughter-in-law and certain dependent grandchildren.

Clear questions 1 to 4 with no exception biting and the claim is maintainable. One boundary: a train and road vehicle collision at a level crossing, with no railway passenger involved, is not a Section 124 or 124A claim.

Amounts are fixed by the Railway Accidents and Untoward Incidents Compensation Rules 1990, as amended. The operative amendment is G.S.R. 1165(E) dated 22 December 2016, in force from 1 January 2017, which substituted the words “rupees eight lakhs” for “rupees four lakhs” and replaced the whole Schedule. A sample of the substituted figures:

The next amendment, notified on 3 June 2020, did not change these amounts. It inserted a rule on mode of payment, letting the tribunal direct that an award be disbursed as annuities, fixed deposits or another suitable mode where illiteracy or other disabling factors might impair judicious use of the sum.

Ex-gratia relief is paid by the railway administration soon after an accident, to meet immediate expenses. It is not your statutory compensation, and taking it does not settle the claim. The Ministry of Railways revised the rates in September 2023, and the untoward incident row is strikingly lower.

A grievously injured passenger hospitalised beyond 30 days gets a further Rs 3,000 per day, for a maximum of 12 months. The Ministry states that ex-gratia in these cases is not to be taken into account at the final claim, so a family paid Rs 1,50,000 after a fall still claims the full Rs 8,00,000 before the tribunal.

1. Pick the bench. File with the Registrar of the Railway Claims Tribunal bench having jurisdiction over the applicant's residence, or where the ticket was bought, or where the incident occurred, or where the destination station lies.
2. Use Form II, in triplicate. Where there is more than one respondent, add as many further copies as there are respondents, with unused file-size envelopes bearing each respondent's full address.
3. Type it properly. Every application must be typed legibly in double space on one side of thick paper of good quality.
4. Present it or post it. The claimant, an authorised agent or a duly authorised legal practitioner may present it to the Registrar, or it may go to the Registrar of the bench concerned by registered post.
5. Get the acknowledgement. Attach a receipt slip in Form IV, signed by the Registrar or the receiving officer. Keep it as proof of the filing date.
6. Claim interim relief separately. Pending the decision, the railway administration is authorised under Section 126 to pay interim relief on request to meet emergent expenses. Form V is used, and whatever is paid is adjusted against the final award.
7. Explain any delay. Form II requires the grounds where the application is not made within one year of the occurrence. Do not stay silent on that point if you are late.

• Post mortem report, in case of death.
• Copy of the FIR, in case of death or injury.
• Medical report giving details of the injuries sustained.
• Death certificate from the District Administration, in case of death.
• Heirship certificate or title, in case of death.
• Proof that the victim was a bona fide passenger on the date of the incident. If the ticket is lost, state the class of travel and the ticket or pass number to the extent known.

Form II also asks for the victim's age, occupation and employer, the date, place and train involved, and whether a claim has been lodged with any other authority.

• Treating a lost ticket as fatal. The Act asks whether the person had purchased a valid ticket, not whether the body was found holding it. Reconstruct the purchase from the reservation record, the PNR, the booking office record or a payment statement.
• Accepting ex-gratia and going home. For an untoward incident that is Rs 1,50,000 against a statutory Rs 8,00,000 for death.
• Filing in the wrong forum. This is a Railway Claims Tribunal matter. The income calculation used in motor accident claims does not govern a Railways Act award, and fare or baggage disputes run on separate machinery. See train ticket refunds and TDR and lost luggage on a train or bus journey.
• Conceding intoxication at the site. Intoxication is one of the five statutory exceptions, so a remark by an official is not a finding. Whether it was recorded, and on what material, shows up in the Form 1 report and the RPF investigation file.

This is where the RTI Act 2005 does real work, because the railway builds a statutory file about your incident before you ever reach the tribunal. The Railway Passengers Manner of Investigation of Untoward Incidents Rules 2020, notified as G.S.R. 346(E) on 3 June 2020, require an officer of the Railway Protection Force to complete the investigation within sixty days and submit a report. It goes to the Divisional Railway Manager, who must examine it within fifteen days and, if satisfied it is complete, pass an order accepting it. The report and that acceptance then go within fifteen days to the Claim office of the Zonal Railway, which decides whether to admit or contest the claim and files a written statement before the tribunal.

So the DRM's office holds the material the railway will use against you. Address an RTI application to the Public Information Officer, Office of the Divisional Railway Manager of the division where the incident occurred, asking for the Form 1 report of the untoward incident, the RPF investigation report and the date it was completed, the DRM's order accepting it, the date the file went to the zonal Claim office, and the record of any ex-gratia paid. Ask for the station diary entry too, since final orders are communicated to the Station Superintendent.

Draft it with the AI RTI Drafter and find the officer through the PIO directory. Track the 30 day clock with the timeline calculator, and if the reply is late or evasive, escalate with the first appeal builder. For the full method, see The RTI Playbook and the practical guides index.

No. Both Section 124 and Section 124A say the railway administration is liable whether or not there has been any wrongful act, neglect or default on its part. Your burden is to show the event falls within the definition and that the victim was a passenger, not that anyone was careless.

Yes. The accidental falling of any passenger from a train carrying passengers is expressly the second limb of the untoward incident definition in Section 123 clause c, and no fault by the railway needs to be shown. The points to guard are the five exceptions in the proviso to Section 124A, so preserve any evidence of how the fall happened.

No fee is charged for filing an accident or untoward incident claim. The railway administration also liaises with state governments to arrange free legal aid for claimants, and issues sleeper class cheque passes when the tribunal orders a claimant's attendance.

Yes. The Ministry of Railways states that ex-gratia payments in train accident and untoward incident cases are not to be taken into account at the time of the final claim for compensation, so it neither reduces nor settles the statutory award.

Section 128 preserves the right to recover compensation payable under other laws in force, and does not affect any right under a contract, a scheme or an insurance policy. What it bars is claiming compensation more than once for the same accident, so an insurance payout is yours to keep.

The claim is not automatically lost. Proof of purchase can come from the reservation record, the PNR, the booking office record or a payment record. This is exactly where an RTI to the Divisional Railway Manager pays off, because the railway runs its own statutory investigation into the incident and that file is disclosable.

• The Railways Act 1989, Act 24 of 1989, on India Code, for Sections 123 to 128.
• Compensation for human casualty and injury, Indian Railways claims portal, for jurisdiction, Form II, Form IV, Form V and the documents list.
• Ministry of Railways revises ex-gratia relief, Press Information Bureau, 22 September 2023, for the ex-gratia rates.
• G.S.R. 1165(E) dated 22 December 2016, the Compensation Amendment Rules 2016, Gazette of India Extraordinary Part II Section 3 sub-section i, for the Rs 8,00,000 scale.
• G.S.R. 346(E) dated 3 June 2020, the Railway Passengers Manner of Investigation of Untoward Incidents Rules 2020, for the investigation timeline.

Checked against these sources in August 2026. Confirm the current ex-gratia rate with the zonal railway, since it is fixed administratively and revised from time to time.