New Delhi: Sept 29 [UDN}:Gallantry medal recipients from the Army, Navy and Air Force will be eligible for complimentary railway travel under a facility announced by the Ministry of Defence. The provision will cover recipients of recognised military gallantry awards and, in specified cases, the parents of personnel who were unmarried and died posthumously after receiving such awards.
According to the information circulated in the report, eligible gallantry award winners will be able to travel free of charge in First Class, Second AC and AC Chair Car categories, subject to the applicable railway rules. Existing Indian Railways rules already provide complimentary rail-pass facilities for recipients of Chakra-series gallantry awards and certain eligible family members.
The facility is intended to provide lifetime complimentary rail travel to eligible gallantry award recipients. Railway rules have also provided travel benefits to widows of posthumous gallantry award winners and, under subsequent provisions, to the parents of unmarried posthumous awardees in specified categories.
Online application and e-pass
Eligible beneficiaries will reportedly be able to apply through the IRCCP (Indian Railway Complimentary Card Pass) portal. After verification and approval of the application, an electronic pass (e-pass) will be issued online for railway travel.
The reported facility is scheduled to come into effect from November 1, 2026.
The eligible gallantry awards include decorations from the recognised military gallantry-award categories such as the Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra, for which Indian Railways has historically provided complimentary pass facilities.
Important: The November 1 implementation and the specific online IRCCP application procedure in the social-media report could not be independently confirmed from a current Ministry of Defence notification in the sources I found. The underlying railway entitlement for gallantry awardees and specified family members is, however, documented in Indian Railways’ published pass rules.
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