In addition to the above quotas, accommodation can also be allotted under Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) & Pooled Quota while booking reserved tickets through website of IRCTC.
These reservation quotas constitute approximately 94% of total reserved accommodation available on Indian Railways, which can be booked both through internet as well as through computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) of Indian Railways.
To avoid any misuse, this facility is generally not extended for those quotas which require prior physical verification of documents. However, recently this facility has been extended to persons with disability, Press correspondents and Defence Personnel. Extension of such facilities to different categories of passengers is a continuous and ongoing exercise.
With a view to cater to requirements of different categories of passengers served by Indian Railways, available reserved accommodation is distributed broadly under following types of reservation quotas:
General: Available for General Public
Tatkal: General Public
Premium Tatkal: General Public
Parliament House: Hon’ble Members of Parliament (Sitting and Former)
Ladies: Female passenger travelling alone or in a group of female passengers
Senior Citizen: Combined quota for senior citizens, female passengers above 45 years and pregnant women
Foreign Tourist: Foreigners
Defence: Defence Personnel
Roadside: General Public
Pooled: General Public
Cancer Patient: Cancer Patients
RAC(Reservation Against Cancellation): General Public
Physically Handicapped: Divyangjan
Duty Pass: Serving/retired Railway employees travelling on Duty/Privilege/Post retirement complimentary passes etc. in specified trains
Railway Employees: Designated Railway employees travelling on Duty in trains
Yuva: Unemployed persons between the age of 15 and 45
Emergency: Urgent travel requirement of High Official Requisition (HOR) holders, Members of Parliament, and general public
Rajesh Dutt Bajpai, Executive Director, Media, Railway Ministry, said that the decision to increase advance reservation period (ARP) of 15 pairs of special trains being run since May 12 was taken for the convenience of passengers.
He said that the RAC or waiting list tickets will be issued in these trains as per extant instructions applicable.
"However, waitlisted passengers will not be allowed to board these trains as per extant instructions," he said, adding that there shall be no Tatkal booking in these trains.
He also said that the first reservation chart of these trains shall be prepared at least four hours before scheduled departure and second chart at least two hours (unlike the earlier practice of 30 minutes) before the scheduled departure.
Bajpai said that the booking of tickets shall be permissible through computerized PRS counters, including Post Offices, Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra licensees etc, as well as through online booking by authorized agents of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation and Common Service Centres.
He said that the revised rules will be applicable from May 24 for trains starting date of May 31 onwards.
With the coming resumption of train services, the Indian Railways has given green signal to the re-opening of reservation counters and booking through the Common Service Centres (CSCs) and also ticket agents.
This development came after Railways announced 200 more special trains from June 1.
The Railways Ministry had earlier said the tickets can be booked through the IRCTC website or its mobile app only. According to a statement, the zonal railways have been instructed to decide and notify the opening of reservation counters in a phased manner on Friday along with dissemination of information about their locations and timings as per local needs and conditions. The opening of booking centres will mark an important step in the graded restoration of passenger railway services
From Friday onwards, the Railways has also allowed booking of reservation tickets through the Common Service Centres and ticketing agents. The running of Shramik Special trains will continue to be handled by local state governments as per the existing protocols.
"Opening of all these booking facilities once again will mark an important step in the graded restoration of passenger railway services and making the task of ticket booking easy for all prospective travellers from all parts of India in reserved trains. Zonal railways may adhere to standard social distancing guidelines and observe the hygiene protocols in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic," said the statement.
(IANS)
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