Indian railways revamps ticket booking: New rules for lower berths, sleeping timings and more
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Indian Railways has made several significant changes to its ticket booking system to enhance passenger convenience and transparency. To further simplify travel, the Railways launched the 'RailOne' app earlier this year, which serves as a super app. Through this app, passengers can now book not only reserved but also unreserved tickets. Additionally, the app serves as a one-stop solution for almost all passenger services related to the Railways.
New system for allotment of lower berths:
Passengers often complain about getting seats on side upper, middle or upper berths despite choosing the option of 'lower berth preference' during online ticket booking. In such a situation, it is important for the passengers to understand the new lower berth reservation rules of Indian Railways properly. In the computerized reservation system of Indian Railways, special arrangements have been made for allotment of lower berths to senior citizens, women passengers above 45 years of age and pregnant women. However, this facility depends on the availability of seats.
As per railway rules, if a lower berth is not available at the time of booking and an upper or middle berth is allotted to a senior citizen or eligible woman, the ticket checking staff (TTE) on the train has the right to allot a lower berth to such passenger if it becomes vacant during the journey. While booking tickets online, passengers also have the option to select 'Book only if lower berth is available'. If the passenger chooses this option and the lower berth is not available, the ticket will not be booked. This allows passengers to travel as per their seat preference.
Seating and Sleeping Rules
According to Indian Railways rules, sleeping hours in reserved coaches are from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. During this period, passengers are allowed to sleep on their assigned berths. During the day, seating is available. Specifically, for passengers with RAC tickets, the RAC passenger on the side lower berth and the side upper berth passenger will share the seat during the day. However, from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am, the lower berth will be occupied only by the passenger on the lower berth. Railways recently reduced the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for reserved tickets from 120 days to 60 days. This means that passengers can now book tickets up to 60 days before their travel date.