IRCTC Ticket Reservation: Why Indian Railways Reduced Advance Booking Period To 60 Days
The railway ministry's decision comes after the high cancellation of tickets booked in advance. The modification is aimed at promoting genuine passengers.
The Indian Railways has reduced the advance booking period for train tickets from 120 days to 60 days, excluding the day of travel. The new rule will come into effect from Nov. 1, 2024.
"The decision will help the Railway Board to improve the visibility of genuine demand for rail travel in India," a PIB release said.
In its circular dated Oct. 16, the Railway Board said that the existing time limit for advance reservation will be reduced to 60 days from 120 days with effect from Nov. 1, 2024.
The railway ministry's decision comes after the high cancellation of tickets booked in advance. The modification is aimed at promoting genuine passengers.
"The ministry of railways has announced this change in the Advance Reservation Period for train bookings by Indian travellers in order to promote genuine passengers," the PIB release added.
The ministry said that 21% of the reservations done in advance for 61 to 120 days were getting cancelled.
"Further, 5% of passengers were neither cancelling their tickets nor were they undertaking the journey," it added.
The railway ministry noted that this 'No Show' trend was one of the reasons behind the decision to change the advance train ticket booking period. This will also help the Indian Railways to plan better for special trains during peak seasons.
"This decision aims to improve ticket availability for genuine passengers and reduce instances of cancellations and no-shows, which result in wastage of reserved berths. Based on the emerging reservation trends and passenger’s uncertainty of travel, Indian Railways keeps changing their ARP policy," the official release mentioned.
The new policy aims to tackle the issue of passengers not showing up without cancelling tickets, which often leads to impersonation and fraud, according to the ministry.
"A 60-day booking window is likely to help reduce the chances of ticket hoarding, making more tickets available for genuine passengers," the PIB release mentioned.
Other Rule Changes For Advance Ticket Booking
The railway ministry also notified that daytime express trains like the Taj Express and Gomti Express will continue to follow the lower time limits for advance reservations.
The 365-day advanced reservation policy for foreign tourists has been kept unchanged.
The ministry further said that all bookings made under the current advanced booking policy before Oct. 31 will remain valid. Reservations made beyond the new ARP of 60 days will still be eligible for cancellation.
