Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS)

August 10, 2025August 11, 2025 irctcportal housekeeping, MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS, obhs in indian railway, obhs staff, On-board Housekeeping Staff

Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)

No. 2025/TG-I/20/P/OBHS

New Delhi dated 19.04.2025

General Managers,
All Zonal Railways.

(COMMERCIAL CIRCULAR NO. 19 OF 2025)

Sub: Earmarking of accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS).

Please refer to Board’s instructions of even number dated 22.02.2025 (Commercial Circular No. 15 of 2025) on the subject quoted above. The issue regarding earmarking of accommodation for OBHS staff has been reviewed and the revised instructions are as under.-

2.It has been decided to earmark two berths/seats for OBHS staff as under.-

(i) Last two side berths/last two seats of the lowest reserved class available in the train should be earmarked for OBHS staff, e.g. in the train having Sleeper Class as the lowest accommodation, berth nos. 71 and 72 in S1 coach should be earmarked for them. Similarly, in the trains having AC Sleeper accommodation only, the last two side berths in B-1 coach should be earmarked for OBHS staff.

(ii) The list of trains in which OBHS facility has been provided will be forwarded by Mechanical Department to Commercial Department duly indicating Whether this facility is being provided through contractor or through Railway staff. As and when the list is updated owing to addition/deletion of trains from under the OBHS scheme, same will also be intimated by concerned zonal railway’s mechanical department.

(iii)In case of non-Railway OBHS staff, the contractor will be asked to deposit the fare for these berths/seats one month in advance. A flag will be put in the system to confirm whether payment has been received from the contractor or not. Payment will be made by the contractor directly to PRS operator, who would earmark the seats in both the directions for OBHS staff for the period of one month from the date of such payment. In case of OBHS staff not able to board the train, intimation should be given to C& W control, who in turn will inform to Commercial Control so that earmarked berth can be released to normal passengers, if required.

(iv)In the PRS chart the berth would be shown as ‘For OBHS staff’. Name of the OBHS staff are not required to be printed on the chart.

(v)A provision for the cost of this fare will be kept in the contract at the time of calling of tender by Mechanical Department. In case of misuse of these berths/seats established, following shall be done:

a.Concerned OBHS staff will be debarred from the contract and would 110 longer work as OBHS staff for the entire contract period.

b.In case of misuse of these berths, the penalty of fare equivalent to 10 times the fare of the class for earmarked the berths can be imposed. After three such instances of misuse, the controlling officer should re-consider the penalty and enhance it suitably and also consider termination of the contract.

c.In case of non-turning up of OBHS staff, these berths will be released to RAC/waitlisted passengers and the question of refund of the fare does not arise as the contractor would be lacking in providing the facility for which he has entered into contract with the Railways

(vi)In case of departmental OBHS staff, D&A action as in case of pass rule shall be initiated.

Sd/-
(Prashant Kumar)
Director Mech. Engg.(Coaching)
Railway Board

Sd/-
(Vikram singh)
Director Passenger Marketing,
Railway Board

Click to View the original order

Here’s a comprehensive summary of the policy on earmarking accommodation for On-board Housekeeping Staff (OBHS) in Indian Railways:

Contents

1 Background: Why Accommodate OBHS?
2 Key Guidelines from Railway Board
- 2.1 Initial Directive — February 2025 (Commercial Circular No. 15 of 2025)
- 2.2 Updated Directive — October 2018 (Commercial Circular No. 62 of 2025)
3 Policy at a Glance
4 Real-Life Perspective

Background: Why Accommodate OBHS?

OBHS teams maintain cleanliness onboard Mail/Express trains by attending to coaches and toilets during journeys. To facilitate their work, Indian Railways earmarked specific berths or seats for them on the trains they service.

Key Guidelines from Railway Board

Initial Directive — February 2025 (Commercial Circular No. 15 of 2025)

Berths Sealed for OBHS: The last two side berths or seats in the lowest reserved class of the train are reserved for OBHS staff.
- For trains with Sleeper Class: berths 71 and 72 in S1 coach are reserved.
- For fully AC Sleeper accommodation: last two side berths in B-1 coach are set aside.
Roles & Terms:
- Mechanical Department identifies eligible trains and flags whether housekeeping is staffed by Railway personnel or contractors.
- For contractual OBHS, contractors must pre-pay the fare for these berths one month in advance, ensuring availability.
- A marker “For OBHS staff” is printed on the PRS chart. Staff names are not printed.
Penalties for Misuse:
- The OBHS staff can be barred from contract if found misusing the berths.
- A penalty of 10× the fare may be levied for misuse; repeat violations could result in contract termination.
- If the OBHS staff doesn’t board, these berths may be released to RAC or wait-listed passengers with no refund to contractors.

Updated Directive — October 2018 (Commercial Circular No. 62 of 2025)

The earmarked berths in Sleeper Class are shifted from S1 to S2 coach, i.e., berths 71 and 72 in S2 are to be reserved instead.
All other provisions remain unchanged.

Policy at a Glance

Aspect	Detail
Who	OBHS staff (railway or contractor appointed housekeeping teams)
What	Last two side berths in the lowest reserved class per train
Location (2025)	Berths 71 & 72 in S1 coach (Sleeper) or B-1 coach (all-AC)
Location (2025 onward)	Berths 71 & 72 in S2 coach (Sleeper)
Procedure	Contractors pre-pay; chart flagged; seats printed as “For OBHS staff”
Enforcement	Penalties for misuse including fines, contract cancellation

Real-Life Perspective

Some passenger observations echo the importance of proper OBHS accommodation:

“Why aren’t they provided some kind of resting area?… The attendees do have a foldable berth near the panel and the door but many a times, TC might sell that for some money.”

This highlights how crucial designated berths are—not just in policy, but in practice.

In Short: Railway Board mandates that two side berths be specifically earmarked for On-board Housekeeping Staff—recently updated to S2 coach berths 71 and 72 in Sleeper Class. This ensures they have a place to rest and perform duties properly, with clear procedures for identification, payment (in case of contractors), and penalties for misallocation.

Let me know if you’d like to explore how this is reflected in PRS charts or passenger booking interfaces, or need examples of affected trains!