Railways caps wait-list tickets at 25% of train's capacity

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: In a significant policy shift, the Indian Railways has started issuing wait-listed tickets for a maximum of 25% of total berths/seats in each class - AC1, 2, and 3, Sleeper, and Chair Car - of a train after accounting for different quotas like for the differently abled.

This is aimed at reducing the uncertainty passengers face with non-confirmed tickets, reports Dipak Dash & Manthan Mehta.Officials said the cap on issuing wait-listed tickets is being done considering that in most cases around 20%-25% of them get confirmed by the time the passenger chart is prepared. Following a circular issued by the Railway Board, zonal railways have started implementing it.The decision has been taken considering the uncertainty people face after booking tickets and also in view of that many with wait-listed tickets enter reserved coaches, crowding trains, officials said.Till now, the maximum limit for wait list ticket for AC1 was 30 berths, AC2 was 100, AC3 was 300 and Sleeper was 400, as per a Jan 2013 circular. "Different railway zones will decide capping of wait list tickets as per the booking and cancellation pattern of trains," a railway ministry official said. The current practice of a large number of wait-listed tickets created a mismatch between confirmed bookings and the number of passengers boarding trains, leading to chaos, a senior Western Railway official said.