Now advance booking in trains will be done only for 60 days, rules will be issued soon

Indian Railway Rules: Taking a big decision, the Railway Board has reduced the advance booking period of train tickets. From November 1, 2024, you will be able to book tickets only 60 days before your train journey. Till now this period was 120 days. The Railway Board made this announcement by issuing a circular on 16 October 2024. According to the circular, all bookings made till October 31 under the 120-day advance reservation period i.e. ARP will remain unchanged. What will be the benefits of this latest step of Railways and what has been the history of Advance Reservation Period i.e. ARP? Let us know here.

Benefit of reservation period of 60 days instead of 120 days

1. 120 days too many: The Railways felt that 120 days was too much to plan the journey. Because of this, there was a high rate of ticket cancellations and wastage of seats/berths when passengers did not travel.

2. 21% Cancellation: Currently, there are about 21% cancellations. 4-5% passengers do not turn up (no-show).

3. Problem of not travelling: It has been seen in many cases that passengers do not cancel their tickets and do not travel. This leads to fraud – such as creating fake identities, illegal taking of money by railway employees etc. Now, this can be stopped.

4. Ticket blocking problem: The longer the period, the more likely some people are to block tickets. With shorter duration, genuine passengers are likely to get more tickets.

5. Impact on normal tickets: General class tickets are not affected as they are purchased just before the journey.

6. Scheme of Special Trains: Given the higher demand due to fewer cancellations and absenteeism, Railways may plan more special trains in advance.

What has been the history of reservation period?

The advance reservation period of Railways has been changing from time to time. Advance reservation period ranges from 30 days to 120 days. Based on experience over different periods, advance reservation period of 60 days has been considered to be the best period from the passengers' point of view.