Hyderabad: Soon, you may no longer be just a rail passenger, you could become a stakeholder in Indian Railways, earning rewards from the very tickets you book.In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, South Central Railway (SCR) is set to roll out a national railway loyalty programme, ‘Rail Miles’, beginning with the Hyderabad division. The move aims to reward frequent travellers while encouraging greener travel behaviour.
Under the proposed model, passengers will earn ‘green miles’ based on parameters such as distance travelled, class of travel, efficiency multipliers and the use of electrified rail corridors. Freight and parcel customers will similarly accrue miles based on ton-kilometres transported.How it worksThe accumulated green miles can be redeemed for a range of railway-linked benefits, including class upgrades (subject to availability), access to premium lounges and waiting halls, retiring room bookings, hotel chains and micro-stays, fare-related credits, and partner offers across hospitality, e-commerce, mobility and station-area services.In addition, a tier-based structure of silver, gold and platinum model will be introduced to encourage repeat travel and long-term engagement with the railways.SCR invites EOIThe Hyderabad division of SCR has invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) from industries, start-ups, technology firms and loyalty programme operators for the conceptualisation, design, technology development, implementation and operation of Rail Miles.The selected partner will be responsible for building scalable digital infrastructure capable of handling millions of transactions daily, integrating passenger data securely, and ensuring real-time rewards allocation.According to SCR officials, sectors such as aviation, hospitality and logistics globally have demonstrated that well-designed loyalty programmes evolve into strategic assets by driving customer retention, monetisation, data-driven decision-making and brand equity. The absence of a structured loyalty framework within Indian Railways represents a significant untapped opportunity, officials noted.Green transportApart from enhancing passenger engagement, the initiative aims to incentivise travellers and freight customers to prefer rail, a comparatively lower-emission transport mode, over road and air travel.“The initiative is designed to encourage repeat usage and long-term customer association, improve passenger and freight customer satisfaction through meaningful redemption benefits, and promote sustainable mobility choices,” said a senior official from the commercial wing of SCR.If successfully implemented, Rail Miles could transform the way lakhs of passengers interact with Indian Railways, turning routine travel into a reward-based ecosystem, another official said. Data analytics from the platform will also help railways understand travel patterns, seasonal demand spikes and consumer preferences more accuratel
