Modifying its earlier order regarding running of limited special passenger trains, Indian Railways on Wednesday, May 13, announced that it will now be issuing tickets to wait-listed passengers. The railways further stated that the waiting list will be applicable to trains plying from May 22, the bookings for which will commence from May 15.
According to the notification, there will be no Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) for the special trains as of now. Earlier, the railways had ordered to allow passengers with only confirmed e-tickets.
Details of waiting list facility
The railways notified that the waiting list will be capped at 20 each for First AC and Executive Class, whereas the limit for chair cars has been set at 100. For AC 3 tier and AC 2 tier, the list will be capped at 100 and 50 respectively while the sleeper class will get 200 waiting list tickets. However, the list of the trains to get the waiting list will be issued later.
Furthermore, the provisions for tatkal and premium booking facilities have not been allowed for the time being. Also, the special trains will have quotas for ladies, senior citizens, and specially-abled starting May 22.
In its latest order, the railways also indicated that it is planning to run more trains in the days to come. "The changes regarding the procedure of waiting list will be applicable to current special trains and the special trains that will be notified in due course of time," the railways said in the notification.
Railways resume operations in gradual manner
Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to inform that the Indian Railways will run 15 pairs of air-conditioned trains from Tuesday, May 12.
These special trains are scheduled to commence from New Delhi Station connecting 15 major cities - Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
He further stated that only online e-ticketing will be done through the IRCTC website or through Mobile App as ticket booking counters at the railway stations will remain closed as a preventive measure against COVID-19.
