New Delhi, Aug. 27: About 20 private firms are in the race to provide insurance to passengers of the Indian Railways and officials working in the stations.

The passenger insurance scheme of the Indian Railways provides cover against death or injury resulting from rail accidents or other untoward incidents, according to the Railway Act of 1989.

The tenders for this year will open on September 1, sources in the railway ministry said.

The insurance will provide cover from September 20 this year to September 19 next year.

Last year, ICICI Lombard had to battle five private players to bag the offer.

For the past three years, the Indian Railways has been inviting private companies to provide insurance.

At present, Rs 4 lakh is paid as compensation in the case of death and Rs 32,000 to Rs 4 lakh in the case of injury, depending on its nature.

The scheme covers the Indian Railways, Metro Railway (Calcutta) and Konkan Railway Corporation.

Railway passengers with valid tickets, railway passes, platform tickets and railway men on duty will be covered under the scheme.

Children below five years travelling with bonafide tickets or pass holder and platform ticket holders in waiting rooms, cloak rooms, booking offices and railway platforms will also be covered under the scheme.

The insurance company selected will be liable to pay compensation only. Interest, if any, awarded by the Railway Claims Tribunal, or compensation for loss of luggage will not be covered under the insurance scheme.

The total premium to be paid to the insurance company will be based on the number of passengers travelling by Indian Railways, Metro Rail (Calcutta) and Konkan Railway during the preceding year and the number of platform tickets issued by the Indian Railways and Konkan Railway during the period.

According to the railways, around 683.31 crore passengers bought tickets, including platform tickets, in 2007-08.

Robust earning

The railways earned around Rs 1,919.66 crore as originating revenue during August 10-20 compared with Rs 1,707.43 crore in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 12.43 per cent.

While the total goods earning rose 9.10 per cent at Rs 1,275.38 crore during August 11-20, passenger revenue also increased 19.96 per cent at Rs 584.77 crore, according to a released issued by the railways.

Around 19.89 crore passengers booked tickets during the period compared with 18.1 crore in the same period last year, which is an increase of 9.86 per cent.

In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked between August 11 to August 20 was 10.83 crore and 9.06 crore, respectively.

This was an increase of 3.70 per cent and 18.27 per cent, respectively when compared to the bookings registered during the corresponding period last year.