IndianRailways Plans Major Relief: Confirm Waiting Tickets 24 Hours in Advance Instead of Just 4 Hours
Booked a train ticket but got stuck on the waiting list? Currently, passengers find out if their waitlisted ticket clears just four hours before the train arrives at the station. However, significant relief is on the way for travelers.
Indian Railways is preparing to change this system. Plans are underway to shift the confirmation notification window from 4 hours to a full 24 hours before the train’s arrival at the boarding station. This means passengers will know a day in advance if their ticket is confirmed or not. Details have emerged on how Indian Railways is implementing this change.
According to a report by The Times of India, a senior official revealed that work on this project is progressing rapidly. A pilot project concerning this initiative was launched on June 6th in the Bikaner Division of Indian Railways. The official stated that no issues have been encountered so far in the pilot.
“We will run this pilot project for a few more weeks to identify any challenges and how they can be rectified,” the official told The Times of India. “Passengers face difficulties when they learn just hours before reaching the station that their ticket hasn’t been confirmed. If the chart is prepared much earlier, it will help people plan their journey better and reduce their stress.”
The official further explained that some passengers travel over 100 km to catch a train. Early information about waitlist status will greatly benefit such travelers by eliminating uncertainty about their trip.
End of Automatic Upgrade to AC for Sleeper Waitlist Tickets
In a separate but related development on May 21st, Indian Railways made a significant change to a rule concerning waitlisted tickets. The new rule limits the upgrade possibilities for confirmed Sleeper Class (SL) tickets.
Previously, if a berth wasn’t available in the booked Sleeper Class, a waitlisted passenger’s ticket could potentially be upgraded to a higher class, including AC tiers. This rule has now been modified.
Under the new regulation, Sleeper Class tickets will only be upgraded to the next two higher classes. Crucially, upgrades from Sleeper Class to First AC (1A) have been stopped entirely, regardless of berth availability. As per IRCTC, Sleeper Class tickets can now only be upgraded up to two classes higher (e.g., SL to 3A or possibly 2A, but not to 1A).
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has reportedly prepared to update its software to implement this new upgrade rule.