Advance Reservation Period for Special Trains Increased From 7 Days to 30 Days
The Indian Railways have decided to change the rules currently applicable to Special passenger trains. The Railway Ministry has stated that the advance reservation period for 15 pairs of special trains will be increased from 7 days to 30 days. Now, you can get tickets one month in advance. These trains will not have immediate booking facility. RAC/waiting list tickets will be issued for these trains. Those, whose ticket will remain in the waiting list, will not be allowed to travel. Rajesh Dutt Bajpai, Executive Director (I&P) of Railways said that, “The booking of tickets shall be permissible through computerized PRS counters including Post Offices, Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees etc., as well as through on-line booking including authorized agents of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Common Service Centres”. This change will be applicable on booking tickets from 24 May, for which the journey would start from 31 May.
Also Read: Railway Reservation Counters Open Today: Ticket Booking Rule
30 Special Trains Running in the Country
Railways had started the operation of 15 pairs of Rajdhani Special trains from May 12. Initially, 15 pairs of trains were run for selected cities of the country. These trains ran from New Delhi railway station to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi. Due to the high number of people cancelling tickets in these trains, Indian Railways had to implement their old policy of ticket cancellation. Along with this, the waiting list limit for the long-awaited tickets has been fixed, which will remain in force even after regular running of trains. Those with waiting tickets can no longer board the train.
Number of Passengers Traveling Has Been Fixed
Railways have also fixed the number of passengers to travel in the train. According to the order of the Railway Board, tickets can be booked on the official website of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation as well as PRS counters. 100 waiting lists in AC 3 tier and 50 tickets in AC 2 tier can be booked in waiting list quota. In addition, the board has prescribed 200 waiting tickets for the sleeper class. If the train trip is cancelled due to symptoms, then you will get full refund. Railways has said that if any type of symptoms are found in a passenger who gets a confirmed ticket during thermal screening, he will not be allowed to travel and will be refunded the ticket money.
Precautions while Travelling
IRCTC has alerted passengers to avoid corona infection during the journey. IRCTC has said that precautions should be taken to prevent corona infection during the rail travel. Passengers are advised to wash hands regularly, wear masks and follow social distancing. Railway has also guided to download the Arogya Setu app.