In a late night move on Wednesday, the Railway Board issued a directive introducing the provision of waiting lists starting May 22 for journeys not only on its currently operational special trains but also on all its forthcoming services. The new changes in guidelines will come into effect for tickets booked from May 15 for journeys beginning from May 22.
The Railways will start waiting lists for special trains From May 22. Here’s a look at all the new rules in place:
* No waitlisted ticket holder will be allowed to travel, according to the new rules. These passengers will, however, get a full refund from the Railways.
* The railways capped the waiting list on these trains -- up to 100 for AC 3 tier, 50 for AC 2 tier, 200 for Sleeper Class, 100 for chair cars and 20 each for First AC and Executive Class.
* Introduction of waiting lists will also lead to reducing the queues for confirmed tickets significantly.
* Tatkal tickets nor Premium Tatkal Quota nor senior citizen quota will be available on these trains.
* Reservation against Cancellation (RAC) tickets will also not be allowed.
* The order from the Railways to the various zones indicates that it is planning to run mixed services instead of the presently all air-conditioned trains. This means that it may begin services to smaller Tier-II towns along with major cities that the Rajdhani trains cater to at present.
* Passengers who are disallowed from travelling on trains because of symptoms associated with coronavirus will receive full refund for their tickets, the Railways has said.
* According to guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, all passengers shall be compulsorily screened and only asymptomatic passengers shall be allowed to board the train.
* If during screening a passenger has very high temperature/symptoms of Covid-19, he shall not be allowed to travel despite having confirmed tickets. In such a situation, a full refund shall be provided to the passenger concerned.
* On a group ticket, if one passenger is found unfit to travel and all other passengers on the same PNR also do not want to travel, in that case a full refund shall be granted for all passengers.
* Full fare for the passenger/group who have not travelled shall be refunded by IRCTC in the customer’s account.
Indian Railways resumed its passenger services after a gap of nearly two months on Tuesday with eight air-conditioned trains carrying more than 13, 000 commuters. According to railway officials, the overall occupancy of the trains was above 100%.
Railways till now, reported 2,08,965 passenger bookings for all 30 trains till Wednesday. Officials are accepting bookings up to seven days in advance for the 15 pairs of special trains the government has announced till date.
