The seats that are already booked will be marked in a different colour, just like in buses and trains. Passengers will also have the option to choose their berths/seats! #IndianRailways #IRCTC
Soon, while booking a train ticket, you’ll be able to see the status of the seats available.
Following a practice in the commercial airline industry, the Indian Railways is working on a proposal towards making reserved charts public with assistance from the Centre for Railway Information Systems, reports the Press Trust of India (PTI).
While booking an airline ticket or a bus ticket on a website or app, you are given a layout of the seating arrangement where you can see the reserved seats.
Depending on which seats are booked, you can choose to purchase a particular seat. Moreover, in airlines, passengers can select their seats as per their convenience or how much they’re willing to pay. The Railways is also mooting a similar step.
“As of now, we need to make the reservation status public so that passengers can see the status of booking of a particular train. Like in airlines, it will show passengers who are booking the seats the ones that are already booked, marked in a different colour. This can be done through PNR. Choosing seats will be the next option,” said an official in the Railway Ministry to PTI.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asked officials to take up this proposal following complaints “about getting wait-listed tickets on certain routes, leaving them with no other option but to approach the TTEs.”
In a bid to address this uncertainty, vacant seats on these trains should be made public during the booking process itself, instead of depending on all this uncertainty.
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However, unlike airlines, there are serious logistical concerns in making this proposal a reality. For starters, passengers get on and off at different stations resulting in constant changes in the status of bookings, besides other security concerns.
Last month, the Indian Railways increased the reservation quota of lower berths for women and senior citizens to enhance passenger comfort and convenience.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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