Waitlisted passengers can now take next alternative train
Starting from April 1, Railways will let waitlisted passengers travel in the next alternative train going towards the same destination the ticket is booked for. Passengers will be allowed to take Rajdhani or Shatabdi trains even if they booked a ticket for other mail or express trains. No extra charge or difference in the fare will be collected by Railways.
Starting April 1, passengers will be able to avail the opportunity of travelling in Rajdhani or Shatabdi trains even if they had booked tickets in other mail/express trains for the same destinations. Railways is launching a new scheme from April as part of which wait-listed passengers can get confirmed accommodation in the next alternative train if they opt for the same while booking their tickets. As per the scheme, there will be no extra charges taken from passengers or any refund provided for the difference of fare. Known as Vikalp, the alternative train accommodation scheme aims to utilise vacant berths in many premier trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and other special service such as Suvidha trains in all major routes. Railways has to forego about Rs 7,500 crore in a year in refund to customers for cancellation of tickets for various reasons. MOVEPASSENGER-FRIENDLY: RAILWAY OFFICIAL Describing the scheme as a "passenger-friendly" move to provide confirmed accommodation to wait-listed passengers in alternative trains, a senior Railway Ministry official said, "We aim to achieve the twin objectives of providing confirmed accommodation to wait-listed passengers and ensure optimal utilisation of available accommodation by this scheme." After the introduction of flexi-fare system in premier trains, some berths are going vacant while at the same time many passengers could not be accommodated in other Mail/Express trains due to the huge demand. "In any case, these berths are running vacant. So whatever we can save in refund is going to be a neat save for us. No additional cost is involved to railways so anything we save will be earnings for railways," the official added. Currently, railways is running the scheme on six routes including Delhi-Lucknow, Delhi-Jammu and Delhi-Mumbai sectors since November 1 on a pilot basis. SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE TICKETINGThe system is available for online ticketing now but it will be extended to over-the-counter sale also as the required software is being readied for the purpose. As per the scheme, wait-listed passengers of a train would be given the option of getting a confirmed accommodation in the next train running on the route. While there is a huge demand for train berths in certain sectors round the year, some routes witness increased rush during festive seasons. If a passenger opts for the Vikalp scheme while booking tickets, he will get an SMS alert on his/her mobile phone about getting the confirmed accommodation in the alternative train. The name of the passenger who has been provided accommodation in the alternative train will not figure in the wait-listed charts of their original train, the official said, adding that a separate list of passengers transferred in the alternative train will be pasted along with the confirmed and wait-list charts.(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)