Indian Railways always make new rules and changes for the best of passengers. Recently, the railway board has announced reducing days in advance ticket booking from 120 days (four months) to 60 days (2 months). This updated rule will be effective from the 1st of November, 2024. Now, IRCTC passengers can book their train ticket only 60 days in advance of the train’s departure schedule. The main agenda behind the changing of ticket booking rule is to streamline the booking process while accommodating passenger needs. According to the sources, the changes have been made considering that the passengers plan their traveling schedules. It should be noted that this new concept of ticket rule will not impact the already booked tickets.
If we look into history, then the shortest advance ticket booking period was 30 days from September 1995 to February 1998. Afterward, In April 2015, the Indian Railways decided to extend the duration to 120 days to allow passengers to book their train tickets up to 4 months. According to the railway officials, the new rule of advanced ticket booking limit would be only applicable to a few express trains including Gomti Express, and Taj Express which have shorter time limits for the reservation.
The Indian Railway Board had stated that the 120-day reservation period was too long for planning resulting in high cancellations of train tickets and led to wastage of seats/ berths because passengers were not turning up for their journeys. Hence, after the introduction of this new rule, passengers can easily plan their journey according to the schedule of the train.
Why Indian Railways Introduce the Advance Ticket Booking Period ?
It has been observed by the railway board that around 21% of reservations done in 61 to 120 days period are getting canceled before departure. Around 5% of passengers were neither canceling their train tickets nor undertaking the journey, resulting in a waste of seats. Hence, to promote genuine train passengers, Indian Railways introduced this new rule of advance ticket booking. If you’re also a regular train traveller then this article is just for you because here, in this blog we’re going to give you all information on this topic.
FAQs Related To Advance Ticket Booking from 120 to 60 Days
Q. What is the new advance ticket booking period rule?
Ans. According to the new advance ticket booking rule, train passengers can only book their train ticket 60 days before the schedule of train departure. Previously, passengers used to book their train tickets 120 days before their journey. According to the sources, the decision was based on the reservation trends, indicating 120 days is much much longer for the traveling plans leading to high chances of ticket cancellation.
Q. When will this new rule of advance ticket booking period be applicable?
Ans. According to the sources, the new advance railway ticket will be applicable from the 1st of November, 2024.
Q. Will this rule apply to booked tickets?
Ans. This rule will not apply to the booked tickets.
Q. Why did the railway board introduce this new rule?
Ans. The IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) introduced this new rule to avoid train ticket cancellation rates.
In India, a large number of people live away from their parents and especially from their hometowns. People used to book their train tickets according to their schedules of the journey. Many passengers never get confirmed trains during the time of festivals due to the high rate of train cancellations. But now, Indian Railways are working to improve the railway system to provide more facilities to the passengers.
Order Food On Train From RailRecipe?
Ordering food on the train while traveling is now very easy and convenient for passengers after the introduction of e-catering services on trains. IRCTC has introduced e-catering services on trains so that passengers can easily order their food while traveling via train. There are a bunch of e-catering service provider companies in the market but very few ones are officially authorized by IRCTC.
Have you ever heard about RailRecipe? If not, then let me tell you that RailRecipe is a well-known IRCTC-authorised e-catering service provider company that delivers fresh, delicious, and flavorsome Indian and International food on trains.
How To Order Food On A Train From RailRecipe?
To order food on train online from RailRecipe all you need to do is to just enter your 10-digit PNR number on the RailRecipe website or you can also download RailRecipe iOS App. Apart from that, you can also place your food order via call by calling us on our helpline number 844-844-0386. Our customer care executive team will surely help you in placing your food order according to your taste and preferences on your train seat.