This article regarding reservation in Indian Railways would be of immense help in booking the Indian Rail Ticket.
Indian Railways Reservation
Indian Railways has made the process of seat
reservation much simpler than ever before. Throughout the length and
breadth of the country, there are numerous counters where one can easily
book the tickets. The metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Chennai and
Delhi, have many counters at different centers for the convenience of
users. Most of the manual reservation centers have been changed into
computerized reservation centers, which provide ticket booking
facilities from any station to any destination.
These reservation centers work between 08:00 hrs IST to 20:00 hrs IST,
apart from Sundays. On Sundays, they operate till 14:00 hrs IST. Most of
the routes are of the Indian Railways are much in demand and remain
crowded most of the times. Due to this, people are recommended to get
their bookings done in advance. IR has provided the facility of advanced
reservation, which is made open 60 days before the actual date of
journey. Sometimes, the public can face long queues and obtain wait
listed ticket in such cases too.
Advance Reservation is also made for people, who want to set out on
sight-seeing trip or pilgrimage trips. The confirmed reservations
guarantee that one is formally allowed to enter and travel by the train
in the allotted seat numbers. In a single ticket, reservations are
permitted for a maximum of 6 passengers with a condition that all of
them are heading for the same destination. Some authorized travel
agencies are allowable to issue tickets. From 2001, Senior citizens have
got the authorization to get 30% reduction on their reserved tickets.
Advent of computerization system has also made it possible for
passengers to book their ticket online. This system has also allowed
checking whether the waitlisted ticket is confirmed or not. One can also
check whether the fares have been changed or not and can look for the
latest train timings. Apart from the ordinary reservation, 'Tatkal' is
an emergency reservation scheme that is discussed in another article. IR
also allows break journeys provided it is not in excess of eight
journeys and completed within the validity period. Things to
Remember for Seat Reservation or Ticket Booking:
- Reservations can be done through any Indian Railway Reservation
counter.
- One can also opt for online booking from anywhere.
- In case, the ticket has the both coach and berth number, it is
regarded as "confirmed".
- In case, AS RAC is written on the ticket, it shows that one can
enter the coach, but will be granted only sitting.
- In case, the ticket is waitlisted, one cannot enter the reserved
coaches.
- Reservations can be cancelled even after the departure of train.
In case of confirmed reservation, one would receive a refund of 50%
of what has been paid. Regarding a waitlisted ticket, one would
receive the whole amount on cancellation in advance.
- Reservations made for sight-seeing trips or pilgrimages are
permissible in all classes with a condition that the journey starts
and ends at the same station.
