Indian Railways offers online reservation of tickets via its e-ticketing arm, IRCTC or Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, as well as railway reservation offices and authorised travel agencies (offline bookings). The Indian Railway administration reserves seats, berths, compartments, and carriages in accordance with the rules and conditions published in the coaching tariff, according to Indian Railways' website - indianrailways.gov.in. Advance reservations are made generally up to 120 days in advance for all classes and trains. The period of advance reservation (ARP) is exclusive of the day of departure of the train, according to the Railways website.
Here are 10 things to know about Indian Railways' ticket reservation rules:
1. Accommodation cannot be reserved without purchase of necessary journey ticket. No reservation of accommodation is made on provisional basis, according to the Railways.
2. Allotment of accommodation is done by the computer according to a pre-defined logic. Efforts are made to provide compact accommodation to persons booked under the same PNR (passenger name record) on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the Indian Railways website.
3. The minimum age for availing concession is 58 years in case of women senior citizens, and the concession is 50 per cent in basic fare only. For men senior citizens, the minimum age for availing the concession of 40 per cent in basic fare is 60 years.
4. Ticket reservation charges vary for different booking classes. Miscellaneous charges such as reservation fee, "super-fast" charge, catering charge and GST (Goods and Services Tax), wherever applicable, are levied additionally to the base fares, according to the Railways portal.
5. The departure time printed on the ticket is indicative, and the passenger must ascertain correct timings from the railway station on the day of journey. The tickets are printed up to 120 days in advance, and any changes in timing after the issue of ticket cannot be advised, according to the Railways website.
6. Any one of the passenger booked on a PNR for undertaking journey in any class is required to produce a proof of identity in original to take the journey.
7. When berths are reserved for passengers, the intention is to provide sleeping accommodation between 9 pm and 6 am. If required between 6 AM and 9 PM, the passengers concerned should make room for other passengers in compartment up to its carrying capacity, according to the Railways website.
8. The passengers whose names figure under the RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) category are provided reserved sitting accommodation initially. Such passengers are likely to get berths due to last minutes cancellation of reservation of passengers not turning up in time before the departure, according to the Railways website.
9. The requests for reservation at the reservation counters are accepted up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train. After this, the reservation can be done at the current counters only at the stations up to one hour before the scheduled departure of the train and thereafter by the ticket collector/conductor on the platform subject to availability of vacant berths/seats.
10. In case the passengers with reserved seats/berths do not turn up within 10 minutes before the scheduled departure, the railway administration may cancel the reserved accommodation, and allot them to the passengers on the RAC list/waiting list accordingly on priority, according to the Railways website.
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