Here’s a summary of All India Leave Travel Concession (AILTC) rules for railway employees (i.e. for Indian Railways officers and staff), covering what it means, who’s eligible, how it works, and key conditions.

AILTC- Railway Board Instructions

In this blog post all rules regarding All India Leave Travel Concession (AILTC) for Railway Employees are explained with clarifications

What is AILTC?

• AILTC is an optional All India Leave Travel Concession scheme — allowing eligible railway employees to travel anywhere in India with leave-travel benefits under the terms of Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988 (CCS (LTC) Rules).

• It was introduced for railway employees pursuant to a decision by the Ministry of Railways under RBE 130/2018 (dated 10-Sept-2018).

• Under AILTC, employees surrender their usual railway “Privilege Passes” for the calendar year and instead avail leave-travel concession — effectively replacing passes with LTC for that year.

Who is eligible for AILTC?

AILTC applies to:

• Railway servants entitled to Privilege Passes (PP).
• Other government-department officials on deputation in Railways who are entitled to PPs.
• Officials of Railway Audit Department (if eligible for PPs).
• Staff/officers working in Railway’s Board Office (subject to conditions, e.g. minimum service of 4 years for Board staff).

Not eligible:

• Those undergoing a minor penalty which includes stoppage of even a single Privilege Pass at the time of application.
• Hometown-LTC / “Home Town LTC or Home-Town converted LTC” is not admissible under AILTC for railway employees.

When & How Often – Block Period?

• AILTC can be availed once in a block of four years. The blocks began from 2018–2021 onward.
• It is purely optional — employees are free to choose it (i.e. they are not forced to pick AILTC instead of passes) in any block.
• If an employee avails AILTC in a given calendar year, they surrender their PPs for that year; they are then excluded from pass benefits for that year.

Procedure to Avail AILTC?

To avail AILTC:

1. The employee must submit an application opting for AILTC for a particular calendar year.
2. They must surrender all Privilege Passes (PPs) admissible to them for that calendar year. On surrendering, they get a document called “Privilege Pass Surrender Certificate (PPSC)” — a prerequisite for availing AILTC.
3. Then apply for leave (of any type) and submit an advance-intimation/declaration letter along with the PPSC to the Establishment / relevant HR/ERB branch.
4. If needed, AILTC advance (travel advance) may also be requested per procedure.

How to Book Flight Tickets for AILTC

If You Are Traveling by Air, You MUST book flight tickets only through:

1. Air India website, OR
2. Authorised travel agencies:
   • IRCTC Air
   • Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd.
   • Ashok Travels & Tours

As per CCS (LTC) Rules — mandatory for LTC/AITLC.

❗ You cannot:

• Book through MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Cleartrip, or private agents
• Book “cheap” airfare directly from airline unless DGCA fare rules allow it & office permits

For claims reimbursement, keep:

• Air ticket
• Boarding pass
• Invoice from authorised agent

RBE No. 130/2018 – Scheme of Optional AILTC

Scheme of optional ‘All India Leave Travel Concession’ (AILTC) facility, once in a block of four years (i.e. 2018-2021 onwards) on surrender of Privilege Passes (PP).

Railway Board Letter RBE 130/2018 (E(W)2017/PSS-1/3), dated 10.09.2018.

Key Provision: This circular officially allowed Railway employees to opt for the “All India LTC” scheme (governed by CCS LTC Rules, 1988) purely on an optional basis.

Condition: To avail of this, the employee must surrender their Privilege Passes (PP) for that specific calendar year.

Frequency: Permitted once in a block of four years (starting with the 2018–2021 block).

RBE No. 74/2020 – Unblocking of Privilege Pass Account

Modification in the ‘All India Leave Travel Concession’ (AILTC) Scheme to facilitate unblocking of Privilege Pass Account in exceptional circumstances!!!

Ref: Board’s letter No. E(W)2017/PS5-1/3 dated 31.08.2020.

Clarification: Request for cancellation of PPSC and re-opening of PPA will be entertained only in exceptional cases. In such case, the applicant will submit an application to PIA, explaining the reasons for non-availing of AILTC with supporting documents, if any. The application must accompany the original PPSC and a Certificate to the effect that ‘the applicant has not drawn any LTC Advance or returned the advance drawn in full in accordance with the Rules regarding grant of LTC advance and adjustment thereof, as contained in CCS (LTC) Rules, 1988’ from the Section handling LTC Claims.

A decision on the request will be taken on the grounds whether the circumstances stated by the applicant are beyond his/her control or otherwise and by an officer of SAG level in the Personnel Department overseeing the Pass Section as Competent Authority. If approved by the Competent Authority, the PPSC as well as CN (wherever applicable), may be treated as ‘cancelled’ and PPA unblocked/reopened for the respective year.

RBE No. 83/2021 – Carry over of AILTC

Clarification regarding carry over of All India Leave Travel Concession (AILTC) of a block of four years to the first year of next block?

Ref: Railway Board’s letter No. E(W)2020/PS5-1/3 dated 11.11.2021.

Clarification: Clarified that if an employee did not avail of the AILTC during the 4-year block (e.g., 2018–2021), they could carry it forward to the first year of the next block (i.e., 2022), consistent with general Central Government LTC rules.

RBE No. 84/2021 – Competent authority for sanctioning of AILTC?

Reference letter no. E(W)2020/PS5-1/3, dated 16.11.2021

Clarification: The Authorities stipulated therein and in the relevant SOPs as competent to sanction advances, etc. as per Railway Travelling Allowance (TA) Rules, shall be Competent Authorities also for all matters connected with AILTC

Special Provision for N.F. Railway

Surrender of one extra pass for N.F. Railway staff?

Reference Letter No. E(W)2021/PS5-2/8 (dated 31.08.2022)

Clarification: Employees serving in the Northeast Frontier (N.F.) Railway are typically entitled to one additional set of Privilege Passes. This circular clarified that to avail of AILTC, these employees do not need to surrender the additional extra set. They only need to surrender the standard entitlement of passes applicable to all railway employees.

RBE No. 152/2022 – Clarification regarding return journey

Reference: Board’s letter No.2022/E(W)/12/1, dated 16.11.2022

Clarification: Clarified that while the outward journey must commence within the valid calendar year/block, the return journey can be performed in the next calendar year, provided the trip is continuous and completed within a reasonable timeframe (as per CCS LTC Rules).

RBE No. 165/2022 – Advance issue of PPSC for availing AILTC in the next Calendar Year

Reference Railway Board letter 2022/E(W)/12/2, dated 21.12.2022.

Clarification: A PPSC for the upcoming calendar year can be issued up to 2 months in advance (i.e., from 1st November of the current year), enabling employees to book tickets early for travel in the new year.

Also read

• Online train ticket booking on Railway e-PASS: IRCTC