Lok Sabha Question No. 513 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-06
Subject: Waitlisted Tickets
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: PONNUSAMY VENUGOPAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 513 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2019

## WAITLISTED TICKETS

513.  DR. P. VENUGOPAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the Railways could not meet expectations  of  passengers  on  better  quality  services  with  higher fares;
- (b) if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c)  whether  it  is  also  true  that  a  passenger  who  purchased  a waitlisted  ticket  by  paying  a  higher  amount  does  not  have  an assurance of a confirmed ticket; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  513  BY  DR.  P.  VENUGOPAL  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.02.2019 REGARDING WAITLISTED TICKETS

- (a) & (b):   Strengthening/upgrading the existing passenger facilities and  introduction  of  new  facilities  is  a  continuous  and  ongoing process.    The  details  of  major  initiatives  taken  by  Government  to improve  the  facilities  for  Rail  Passengers  in  recent  past  are  as under:
- (i) Online  ticket  booking  facility  through  Indian  Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website thereby obviating the need to stand in queues at reservation counters.
- (ii) Reserved and unreserved ticket booking facility through mobile phones.
- (iii) Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) at Railway stations for dispensation of unreserved tickets.
- (iv) Provision of various cashless modes of payment like net banking,  e-wallets,  credit/debit  cards  through  Point  of Sale (POS)s machines, through Unified Payment Interface (UPI), etc.
- (v) Earmarking of separate counters at various Computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) centres  for  dealing  with  the  reservation  requisitions received  from  persons  with  disability,  senior  citizens, ladies, former Members  of Parliament, Members  of

Legislative Assemblies, accredited press correspondents and freedom fighters.

- (vi) Automatic preparation of first reservation charts at least 4 hours before scheduled departure of train and thereafter  booking  of  available  accommodation  through internet as well as through PRS counters till preparation of second reservation charts.
- (vii) Intimation to passengers through SMS in case of change in  passengers'  reservation  status  from  waiting  list/RAC to confirmed, cancellation of trains, late running of train in identified trains, etc.
- (viii) Cancellation of computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter tickets through IRCTC website or through 139.
- (ix) Automatic refund to e-ticket holders in case of cancellation of trains.
- (x) Introduction  of  Alternate  Train  Accommodation  Scheme 'VIKALP' to provide confirmed accommodation to waitlisted passengers in alternate train.
- (xi) Increase  in  number  of  berths  earmarked  as  RAC  to accommodate more passengers.
- (xii) Enhancement of the existing combined quota earmarked for Senior Citizens, pregnant women and female passengers 45 years of age and above to 7 lower berths per coach in Sleeper (having more than one coach of the class),  4  lower  berths  per  coach  in  3AC  and  4  lower berths per coach in 2AC class. Further, in 3AC class of

Rajdhani,  Duronto  and  fully  Air  Conditioned/  Express trains, the number of lower berths has been increased to 5 lower berths per coach.

- (xiii) Earmarking  of  reservation  quota  of  two  berths  in  3AC class  and  four  berths  in  Sleeper  class  for  persons  with disability.
- (xiv) Introduction  of  Sarathi  Seva  in  addition  to  the  existing pick up and drop and wheelchair services, to help old and disabled  passengers  requiring  assistance  at  the  station and  to  strengthen  the  existing  services  for  enabling passengers to  book  Battery  Operated  Car  (BOC),  porter services etc. on a paid basis.
- (xv) Provision  of  Yatri  Mitra  Sewa  at  major  stations  for enabling  passengers  to  book  wheelchair  services  cum porter services.
- (xvi) Provision  of  cushioned  seats/berths,  fluorescent  lights, air-conditioning,  fans,  toilet,  dustbins  and  wash  basin facilities etc. in all main line trains/coaches being manufactured.
- (xvii) Provision  of  looking  mirrors,  snack  tables,  magazine bags,  water  bottle  holders,  coat  hooks,  small  luggage racks, luggage securing arrangements, mobile/laptop charging sockets in identified classes of coaches.
- (xviii) Provision of dust bins in Non-AC coaches, Braille signages in coaches, mugs with chain in Non-AC coaches.
- (xix) Introduction  of  premium  services  like  Tejas,  Humsafar, Mahamana Express, Deen Dayalu Express etc.
- (xx) On all pre-paid trains like Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto etc. where  catering  charges  are  included  in  the  ticket  fare, menu  of catering services is commensurate with service-wise  catering tariff.   On  all other  Mail/Express trains,  all  catering  items  including  affordable  standard meals and Janta meals are made available on sale basis. The menu and tariff of catering services are prominently displayed for information of passengers.
- (xxi) Introduction of optional catering service as a pilot project on  32  Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto  trains  w.e.f. 01.08.2017 for an initial period of 180 days.
- (xxii) Introduction of station-based e-catering for widening the range  of  options  available  to  passengers  for  ordering food of their choice.
- (xxiii) Introduction of pre-cooked food ('ready to eat' meals) in the range of options available to passengers.
- (xxiv) Operation of centralised Catering Service Monitoring Cell (CSMC)  (Toll  free  Number.  1800-111-321)  for  prompt redressal of passenger grievances related to the catering activities and real time assistance to travelling public.
- (xxv) Operation of all India helpline Number 138 for Rail users to lodge complaints/suggestions regarding food and catering services.
- (xxvi) A  twitter  handle  -  @  IRCATERING  has  also  been  made operational  to  cater  to  the  complaints/suggestions  with regard to catering services.
- (xxvii) With  a  view  to  provide  safer  and  more  comfortable journey to passengers, Indian Railways have decided to proliferate new generation coaches, namely, Linke Hofmann Busch(LHB) coaches, which are technologically superior, safer and have better riding and aesthetics as compared  to  conventional  Integral  Coach  Factory(ICF) coaches. Presently, 335 pairs of trains are being operated with such coaches. Besides, for better travelling experience, Indian Railways have also introduced  29  Humsafar  Express,  01  Tejes  Express,  10 Antyodaya Express and 01 Uday Express trains.
- (xxviii) Every  Endeavour  is  made  to  keep  cleanliness  in  the coaches including toilets and the stations. Some initiatives to improve cleanliness are as under:
-  Provision of Mechanised cleaning contracts with improved processes, machinery and updated management systems. Currently, mechanised cleaning is done at nearly 520 stations.
-  Operation  of  deluxe  and  normal  public  toilets,  through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model on 'Pay and Use' basis. More than 900 stations have Normal Pay and Use toilets  and  about  60  stations  have  Deluxe  Pay  and  Use toilets.
-  Carrying  out  third  party  audit  and  ranking  of  407  major stations  on  cleanliness  annually  since  2016  in  order  to identify weak points requiring more attention on cleanliness, to get feedback and to instill healthy competition.
-  Cleaning  of  coaches  of  trains  at  both  ends  including mechanized cleaning.
-  Provision  of  On  Board  Housekeeping  Service  (OBHS)  in more  than 1050 pairs of trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and other important long distance Mail/Express trains for cleaning of coach toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger compartments during the run of the trains.
-  Facility  of  sending  message  through  mobile  (SMS)  on  a specified mobile number under 'Clean My Coach' scheme,  for  any  cleaning  requirement  in  the  coach  in trains having OBHS service.
-  Introduction of 'Coach Mitra' facility in about 1000 pairs of  OBHS  trains  where  a  single  window  interface  is available to register  coach  related  requirements  of passengers  such  as  cleaning,  disinfection,  linen,  train lighting, air conditioning and watering of coaches.
-  Prescribing Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme for limited mechanized cleaning attention to identified trains including cleaning of toilets during their scheduled stoppages enroute at nominated stations.
-  Provision of dustbins in non AC coaches also in addition to the AC Coaches.
-  Intensifying  the  pace  of  installation  of  Bio-toilets  in Coaches. Bio-toilets planned to be installed in the entire BG coaching fleet of Indian Railways by 2019.
-  Doing  regular  pest  control  treatment  of  coaches  and taking rodent control measures.
-  Driving  special  and  regular  Cleanliness  Campaign  under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

(c) & (d): In the computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS), confirmed berths/seats are allotted on first come first served basis till the availability and thereafter Reservation Against Cancellation  (RAC)/Waiting  List  tickets  are  issued.  The  status  of RAC/Waiting  List  tickets  get  automatically  updated  against  the cancellation of confirmed berths/seats and also against release of unutilised reservation quotas.

The details of approximate number of waiting list passengers whose status got upgraded to RAC/Confirmed from the financial year 2015-16 onwards are as under:

| Financial Year          |   Number of waiting list passengers whose status got upgraded to RAC/confirmed (in millions) |   Percentage of waiting list passengers whose status got upgraded to RAC/confirmed |
|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2015-16                 |                                                                                        73.69 |                                                                              71.15 |
| 2016-17                 |                                                                                        70.98 |                                                                              71.9  |
| 2017-18                 |                                                                                        70.22 |                                                                              71.19 |
| 2018-19 (upto November) |                                                                                        51.29 |                                                                              71.18 |

Waiting list of trains is monitored on regular basis and to cater to  additional  rush  during  peak  periods  special  trains  are  run  and operational load of existing trains are augmented  subject  to feasibility. Further, with a view to providing confirmed accommodation to waiting list passengers and to ensure optimal utilisation of available accommodation, a scheme known as Alternate Train Accommodation (ATAS) known as 'VIKALP' has been introduced to cover all types of trains on all sectors. The scheme aims at reducing waitlisted  passengers  by  providing  alternate  train  accommodation in train having vacant accommodation. For this facility, waiting list passenger has to give an option at the time of booking of ticket & passengers with waiting list status at the time of preparation of first reservation charts are shifted to other trains, subject to availability of vacant accommodation.

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