IRCTC announces new ticket reservation rules; advance booking period reduced, check days
PTC News Desk: The railway board has reduced the advance reservation period from 120 days to 60 days. The new time limit will come intro effect from November 1st. Cancellations made beyond the ARP of 60 days would be permitted, the circular further stated. according to the railway officials, new time limit will not be applicable to certain express trains including Taj Express, Gomti Express which have a shorter time limit for advance reservations. Earlier the railway ministry announced that it would be launching a "special" ticket checking drive during the festive period to deter ticketless travel .
Keeping in view of the passengers' comfort during the festive days, the Ministry has asked the zones to "to nominate senior level officers to monitor these drives at divisional as well as zonal level. "Feedback of these drives may be sent to this office by November 18," the Ministry's letter said.
According to a response under the RTI Act by the Indian Railway to an applicant Chandra Shekhar Gaur, in the Financial Year of 2023-24, the Railway officials caught 361.045 lakh passengers travelling either without tickets or improper tickets and collected ₹2231.74 cr as fines.
The Ministry notified the General Managers of 17 Zones to initiate a special campaign from October 1-15 and again from October 25-November 10, instructing them to take appropriate action in accordance with the Railways Act of 1989. Importantly, this initiative also targets policemen, who are identified as some of the main offenders.
- With inputs from agencies
