TIME LIMIT FOR ADVANCE RESERVATION PERIOD REDUCES FROM 120 DAYS TO 60 DAYS

Admin

Kolkata: 17th October, 2024: It has been decided that w.e.f 01.11.2024, the existing time limit for advance reservations by trains will be reduced from 120 days to 60 days (excluding the date of journey) as mentioned below:

  • With effect from 01.11.2024, the ARP will be of 60 days (excluding the day of journey) and bookings will be done accordingly. However, all the bookings done upto 31.10.2024 under the ARP of 120 days will remain intact.
  • Cancellations of the booking made beyond the ARP of 60 days will, however, be permitted.
  • There will be no change in the case of certain day time express trains like Taj Express, Gomti Express, etc, where lower time limits for advance reservations are, at present, in force.
  • There will also be no change in the case of limit of 365 days for Foreign Tourists.

History: Railway advance reservation period has undergone changes from time to time. Advance Reservation Period has varied from 30 days to 120 days. Based on the experience of various periods, 60 days Advance Reservation Period has been observed as the optimal period from passenger point of view.

Benefits of 60 days reservation period:

  • 120 days was too long for planning, resulting in high cancellations and wastage of seats/ berths because of passengers not turning up for journeys.
  • Currently, there is about 21% cancellation and 4 – 5% passengers don’t turn up (no show).
  • Issues with No-show : In many cases, it is seen that passengers do not cancel their tickets and do not turn up for journeys. And this leads to frauds – such as impersonation, railway officials taking money illegally etc. Now, this can be prevented.
  • With longer periods, there was a greater chance of some people blocking the tickets. Shorter periods will encourage more tickets by genuine passengers.
  • There is no impact on General class tickets as they are purchased just before the journey.
  • With better visibility of demand due to lesser cancellations and no-show, railways can plan more special trains well in advance.