Starting today, i.e. November 1, 2024, a new rule regarding advance booking of train tickets will come into force. You can now book train tickets up to 60 days in advance. Indian Railways has changed the rules of advance ticket booking. Now you can make reservations just 60 days (two months) in advance. Until now the booking facility was available up to 120 days in advance, but now it has been reduced to 60 days.
The new rule will not apply to tickets already reserved. Tickets booked during the 120-day early bird period through October 31, 2024 will remain valid. According to the new reservation period, the possibility of cancellation will be available for reservations of more than 60 days. No changes have been made for some day express trains like Taj Express and Gomti Express, which already have shorter booking periods. There has been no change to the 365-day limit for foreign tourists.
What argument has Railways given?
According to the Ministry of Railways, the new rules will not affect already booked tickets. Booking of train tickets is done through IRCTC website, app and train booking counters. The Railways claims that this decision was taken in view of the high number of cancellations and wastage of seats. Railways said the 120-day advance booking period used to be too long. About 21 percent of tickets booked during this period are cancelled. While 4 to 5 percent of people don’t travel at all. There were many cases where passengers did not have their tickets cancelled, so the possibility of fraud remains and the needy were seen wandering around in search of tickets. According to Railways, only 13 per cent of people booked train tickets four months in advance. While most tickets were booked within 45 days prior to travel.
Who benefits and who loses from the new norm?
Crowds have been seen on trains during the Diwali festival. Many passengers complained that they had not gotten the reservation, so they had to travel for a long time in general class. Now Chhath Puja is near. At such times, people employed in cities go to their towns and homes. There is more crowd. Train and flight tickets are not easy to get and common people are facing problems. Black marketing increases. Railways also suffer losses due to this and complaints of illegal recovery are starting to come in. Railways informs that in view of the large number of passengers in trains during the festivals, the rules have been modified. This will also curb black marketing and corruption to a large extent.
Reducing the booking cut-off time will provide maximum convenience to the Railways in planning the running of special trains, because the correct situation can be estimated taking into account fewer cancellations and crowding of passengers. This will reduce problems and challenges for both passengers and railways.
What are the rules for booking tickets now?
The advance booking period for train tickets changes periodically. According to the rules in force until now, train tickets could be reserved four months in advance of the trip. On March 25, 2015, the Ministry of Railways increased the reservation period from 60 days to 120 days. At that time, the Railways had argued that by extending the deadline, brokers would be disappointed and would also have to pay higher cancellation charges.
Now, once again, the deadline for booking train tickets has been extended to 60 days. Previously, the reservation period was also 45 days and 90 days. After analysis, the Railways decided that for the convenience of passengers, a maximum booking period of 60 days could be best.
What will happen to those who reserved tickets in advance?
Passengers who have already booked tickets will not be affected by the new rule. Railways says the new rule will come into effect from November 1, 2024. As per the 120-day rule, bookings made up to October 31 will remain intact. That means it will not affect reservations made until October 31. However, if you have booked a ticket for more than 60 days, there are no changes to the rules for canceling it.
When can I cancel the ticket?
According to the new rule, the period for canceling the ticket will also be 60 days. This means that if you want to cancel your ticket, you will have to complete the process within this period.
The ticket reservation of which trains is not affected by the new rule?
Trains whose advance booking period is already short will not be affected by the new rule. These trains include trains like Gomti Express and Taj Express. Currently, a shorter period for advance booking already applies to these trains. There will be no changes to the 365-day limit for foreign tourists. As before, foreign tourists will be able to make reservations within 365 days.
