m-Aadhar – Proof of Identity for Rail Travel

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

13-September-2017 16:34 IST

Ministry of Railways permits m-Aadhar as one of the prescribed proofs of Identity for Rail Travel Purpose.

Ministry of Railways has decided to permit m- Aadhar (Aadhar card on mobile app namely m- Aadhar launched by UIDAI) as one of the prescribed proofs of Identity for Rail Travel purpose in any reserved class.

m-Aadhar is a mobile app launched by UIDAI on which a person can download his/her Aadhar Card. It can be done only on the mobile number to which Aadhar has been linked. For showing Aadhar, the person has to open the app and enter his/ her password to show the Aadhar Card.

m-Aadhar when shown by the passenger on his/her mobile after entering the password should be accepted as proof of identity for undertaking journey in any reserved class over Indian Railways. It is effective from 8th September 2017.

Railways launches app for unreserved ticket booking

You can now book your unreserved train ticket through your mobile phone as railways has launched a new IRCTC app for unreserved ticketing.

Payments for the same can also be made through e-wallets such as Paytm and Mobikwik.

The app will also be linked to cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola through which passengers will be able to book their cabs as well.

Speaking at the launch of this app, railway minister Suresh Prabhu said, "IRCTC Rail Connect has been developed to bring the power of Next Generation E-ticketing System like High Performance and Enhanced Security. It will enhance the user experience."

Railway ministry will also explore the advertising potential of this app to rake in extra revenue through corporate tie ups with hotels, cab aggregators and other such utility companies.

Source:-The Economic Times

Paperless Ticket System in Railways

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

14-December-2016 17:30 IST 

Paperless Ticket System in Railways

Indian Railways have already introduced paperless ticketing. In case of e-tickets booked through Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website including through mobile application based ticket, Short Message Service (SMS) sent by IRCTC and screen shot of the e-ticket (Virtual Reservation Message) displayed through laptops/palmtops/mobile phones has been permitted as valid authority for travel alongwith prescribed identity proof in original subject to appearance of name of the passengers on the reservation chart and thus there is no need to take a print-out of Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS)/e-ticket in this case. 

Further, with a view to facilitating convenient booking of unreserved tickets by passengers without having to stand in long queues to purchase Railway tickets, Indian Railways have introduced the facility of booking of paperless unreserved ticket, season ticket and platform ticket through mobile phone in some stations in Central, Western, Eastern, Southern, South Eastern, South Central and Northern Railways as a pilot project. 

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 14.12.2016 (Wednesday).

Plan to open rail ticket counters in 50 post offices awaits nod

CHENNAI, November 5, 2016

Proposals to open Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters in about 50 post offices across the State is awaiting the nod from Southern Railway for nearly two years now.

The Postal Department began offering services to book railway tickets in post offices back in 2013. As of now, there are 34 such PRS counters in post offices across the State. Of this, eight are in the Chennai city region, including the post offices at IIT Madras, Shastri Bhavan.

Officials said the department tied with the Southern Railway to take the service to customers living in areas which do not have easy access to such facilities. However, proposals sent to the Southern Railway, during the course of past two years, are still pending.

Some of the significant proposals to open PRS counters are in Anna Road head post office, Chennai and Tiruchi Airport post office. “We identify places which are far away from the railway stations or other PRS booking centres,” said J.T. Venkateswarulu, Postmaster General (Mails and Business Development).

Nearly 1.35 lakh transactions, including cancellation of tickets, were carried out in the past six months. The Postal Department earned a revenue of nearly Rs. 21 lakh through the PRS counters during this period.

More counters would help customers, particularly in rural and semi urban areas who still prefer to book tickets through PRS counters, officials said.

Southern Railway officials said that, at present, PRS centres were functioning in 30 locations across Tamil Nadu. Some proposals for setting up PRS counters in post offices were pending as they were awaiting equipment. However, sources also said they were not keen on opening such PRS counters in more post offices, immediately, as it did not fetch much revenue to the Southern Railway, especially in urban areas.

With the increase of online booking through IRCTC, authorised agents and mobile applications, there were also queries from within the Railway administration about the need to open such booking counters, especially in spaces where revenue is not bound to be on the high side, sources said.

Anna Road Head Post Office, the Chennai and Tiruchi Airport Post Offices are among the ones proposed.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com

Minister of Railways Modifies Senior Citizens Concession Rules

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

03-October-2016 17:35 IST

Minister of Railways Modifies Senior Citizens Concession Rules

Ministry of Railways has decided to grant concession only to senior citizens of Indian Nationality, permanently residing in India.  

It has been clarified that Senior Citizen concession shall not be admissible to the senior citizen of foreign nationals & NRIs.  

The revised rule for concession to Senior Citizen should be as under:

Categories	Existing Rule	Revised Rule
Senior Citizen	Male Senior Citizen of the age of 60 years and above and 58 years & above in case for women senior citizen.	A Senior Citizen of Indian Nationality, permanently residing in India of the age of 60 years and above for Men Senior citizen and 58 years and above in case of Women Senior Citizen shall only be eligible for concession in passenger fare.

          

This has been come into effect from 29th September 2016.

Introduction of Flexi Fare system for Rajdhani/Duronto and Shatabdi trains

Ministry of Railways have decided to introduce the flexi fare system for Rajdhani/Duronto and Shatabdi trains as per details given below:-

1.  The Base Fare for Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi class of trains will be on flexi fare system.

2(a) The base fares will increase by 10% with every 10% of berths sold subject to a prescribed ceiling limit as indicated in the table below. There will be no change in the existing fare for 1AC and EC class of travel. In the tables given below ‘X’ stands for the present base fares.

Fare Structure for Rajdhani and Duronto category of Trains
Charges % of berths	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
2S	1X	1.1X	1.2X	1.3X	1.4X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X
SL	1X	1.1X	1.2X	1.3X	1.4X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X
3A	1X	1.1X	1.2X	1.3X	1.4X	1.4X	1.4X	1.4X	1.4X	1.4X
2A	1X	1.1X	1.2X	1.3X	1.4X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X
1A	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X
X= Base Fare

Fare Structure for Shatabdi  category of Trains
Charges % of berths	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
CC	1X	1.1X	1.2X	1.3X	1.4X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X	1.5X
EC	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X	1X
X= Base Fare

                       

Other supplementary charges like reservation charges, Superfast charge, Catering charges, Service tax etc., as applicable shall be levied separately.

(b) Vacant berths left at the time of charting would be offered for current booking. Tickets under current booking shall be sold at the last price sold for that class and other supplementary charges like reservation fee, superfast charges, catering charges, service tax etc., as applicable shall be levied in full.

(c) The information should also be displayed to the passenger during the booking in case the fare of lower class becomes higher than the higher class to exercise option to travel by the higher class.

(d) The last price for every class of tickets for the particular train should be printed in the reservation chart for the purpose of charging of difference of fare in the train or charging the passengers of the train without ticket etc.,

3. The operation of various quotas available in these category of Trains shall be as under:

(a) Tatkal Quota: The present limit of berths set aside for Tatkal quota in these trains shall be operated as per the existing guidelines.  However, no additional charges as “Tatkal charges” will be levied.  The berths assigned under the Tatkal quota shall be booked at the rate of 1.5 times of the base fare for all classes (2S, SL, 2A, 3A and CC) except 1AC and EC. Other supplementary charges like reservation fee, superfast charges, catering charges, service tax etc., as applicable shall be levied in full.

(b) There shall be no Premium Tatkal Quota in these train services.

4. Concession: Normal concession as applicable for respective concessional ticket will be admissible on the base fare of the ticket at each stage as per the table above.

5. Refund Rules:  There will be no change in the existing refund rules.

6.  Other Charges: There shall be no change in charges for reservation fee, superfast surchargeetc. Such charges, wherever applicable, shall continue to be levied additionally as per existing instructions.

7. Service tax will continue to be levied as applicable as per instructions issued in this regard.

8. All other rules and conditions pertaining to the above category of trains shall be continued without any change.

9. The changes in fares as above shall come into force w.e.f 09.09.2016.

10.The revised fares will notapply to tickets already issued in advance for journeys to commenceon or after 09.09.2016.

11.  In the case of tickets already issued at pre-revised rates, the difference of fare shall not be collected from the passengers.

 12. These changes should be carried out in manual ticketing system and in PRS, UTS  etc.,

Source:-PIB (Release ID :149606)

Features of Tatkal Scheme in Railways

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

10-August-2016 16:06 IST

Features of Tatkal Scheme in Railways

Adequate safeguards have been built in the scheme to avoid misuse of the Tatkal scheme, some of which are as under: 

i. One of the passengers booked on the ticket has to show the prescribed proof of identity (in original) during journey failing which all the passengers booked on that ticket are treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

ii. No refund is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket. 

iii. The facility of change of name is not permitted on the booking made under Tatkal Scheme. 

iv. The timings of opening of booking under Tatkal scheme on the opening day of reservation have been staggered to 1000 hours & 1100 hours on the previous day of journey from train originating station for AC and non-AC classes respectively.

v. Authorised ticketing agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of Tatkal booking i.e. from 1000 hours to 1030 hours and from 1100 hours to 1130 hours. 

vi. Web service agents have been permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day. 

vii. Maximum four passengers per PNR for Tatkal Tickets. Individuals are allowed only 2 Tatkal tickets per IP Address from 1000 hours to 1200 hours permissible and maximum number of tickets allowed to an individual user is 6 per month. 

viii. Automatic log out after completion of one transaction. 

Whenever any instance of misuse of Tatkal scheme was brought to the notice, the root cause for such misuse was examined and remedial steps were taken by modifying the provisions of the scheme to plug the loopholes. Centralized statistics, State/Union territory wise regarding instances of such misuse is not maintained. However, since 2014 till date, instructions regarding modification in Tatkal scheme have been issued on six occasions. This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 10.08.2016 (Wednesday). 

Refund for E-Ticket and Railway Ticket Passengers

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

10-August-2016 16:02 IST

Refund for E-Ticket and Railway Ticket Passengers

             As per extant rule, in case of cancellation of trains, automatic refund of fare on confirmed or RAC or Waitlisted e-tickets is directly credited to the account from which booking transactions took place. Online cancellation or filing of TDR is not required in such case. For PRS counter ticket, when the train is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances such as accident, breach or flood, refund of fare is permissible across the counter within three days excluding the scheduled day of departure of the train.

 Comparative important cancellation & Refund rules for PRS counter ticket and e- ticket are as under:-

PRS COUNTER TICKET	E-TICKET
(i) Cancellation and Refund of fare on confirmed PRS counter tickets is permissible across PRS counter upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train	(i) For refund of fare on e-tickets, online cancellation/TDR have to be filed as the case may be upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train and refund of permissible refund amount is credited to the account from which booking transaction took place.
(ii) Cancellation and refund of fare on RAC/Waitlisted PRS counter tickets is permissible up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.	(ii) In case of RAC e-ticket, the same can be cancelled/TDR can be filed online upto thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. In case of waitlisted e-ticket on which status of all the passengers is on waiting list after preparation of reservation chart, the refund of fare is directly credited to the account from which booking transaction took place.
(iii) In case of cancellation of trains, or PRS counter ticket, when the train is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances such as accident, breach or flood refund of fare is permissible across the counter within three days excluding the scheduled day of departure of the train.	(iii) In case of cancellation of trains, automatic refund of fare on confirmed or RAC or Waitlisted e-tickets is directly credited to the account from which booking transactions took place. Online cancellation or filing of TDR is not required in such case

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 10.08.2016 (Wednesday). 

Railways to close seven postal ticket reservation centres

SALEM, July 26, 2016

Salem Railway Division has decided to close seven advance train ticket reservation centres (Postal PRS) functioning in the post offices in four districts coming under the division.

A press release from the division on Wednesday said that these centres are located in post offices, but was falling below the minimum ticket booking norms of 25 tickets per day, fixed by the Railway Board.

Hence, the railways has decided to close the centres functioning in post offices at Pallipalayam, Tiruchengode, Mallasamudram and Rasipuram (sorting) post office, all in Namakkal district, Aravakurichi post office in Karur district, Edappadi post office in Salem district and Uthangal (sorting) post office in Krishnagiri District. Hence, the release asked the public to take note of it and approach their nearest railway reservation offices or facilities for booking their train tickets in advance.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/

Reduction In Tatkal Quota in Indian Railway

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

22-July-2016 17:28 IST

Reduction In Tatkal Quota in Indian Railway

Although Zonal Railways can earmark a maximum of 30% of available accommodation as Tatkal, yet Tatkal quota like all other reservation quotas is reviewed on a periodical basis so as to earmark it based on realistic demand pattern, by reducing it if required. In 2015-16, approximately 18.20% of the total accommodation has been earmarked as Tatkal quota (including Premium Tatkal). Moreover, adequate safeguards have been built in the scheme and various steps have been taken to avoid misuse of the Tatkal scheme, some of which are as under: 

i. No refund is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket. 

ii. The facility of change of name is not permitted on the booking made under Tatkal Scheme.

iii. The timings of opening of booking under Tatkal scheme on the opening day of reservation have been staggered to 1000 hours and 1100 hours on the previous day of journey from train originating station for AC and non-AC classes respectively.

iv. Authorised ticketing agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of Tatkal booking i.e. from 1000 hours to 1030 hours and from 1100 hours to 1130 hours. 

v. Web service agents have been permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day. 

vi. Maximum four passengers per PNR are permitted for Tatkal Tickets. Individuals are allowed only 2 Tatkal tickets per IP Address from 1000 hours to 1200 hours and maximum number of tickets allowed to an individual user is limited to 6 per month. 

vii. CCTVs are installed at important PRS locations to monitor the activity of touts. Regular inspections/drives are conducted to unearth activity of malpractice.

This Press Release is based on information given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communications and Minister of State for Railways in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 22.07.2016 (Friday).  

Wi-Fi At 3 More Railway Stations i.e. Patna, Ranchi & Visakhapatnam

Minister of Railways introduced Wi-Fi services at Three More Railway Stations i.e. Patna, Ranchi & Visakhapatnam

The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated the High Speed Wi-Fi services at Patna (Bihar), Ranchi (Jharkhand) & Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) Railway Stations through Video Conferencing from Rail Bhawan, New Delhi for the commuters at these Railway Stations. The Wi-Fi facility for the visitors & rail users at these stations has been commissioned by RailTel in association with Google for providing high speed state of the art world class internet experience to the commuters. Chairman, Railway Board Shri A.K. Mital, Member Engineering Shri V.K. Gupta, M.D. RailTel Shri R.K. Bahuguna, and other board Members were present at Rail Bhawan to grace the occasion. Various dignitaries were also presented at the respective abovementioned Railway Stations.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said that as the India is heading towards digitalization, Internet has become the basic need of every individual for which they are entitled to. He said that to bring the railway stations to world standard and to keep pace with the latest technology, provision of high speed WiFi is the first step in this direction. He said that so far this facility has been provided at 19 Railway Stations which will be extended to 100 Railway Station in the coming one year. He said that after completion of this project of providing WiFi facility at all 400 stations, it would be the biggest WiFi service in the world. He said that Indian Railways have been taking lot of measures to improve the facilities for the railway users and the coming time will also bring lot of new facilities which will make the railway passengers feel proud.

Passenger Reservation System in Indian Railways

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

27-April-2016 16:15 IST

Passenger Reservation System in Indian Railways

At present, computerised reservation facility is available at approximately 3337 reservation centers, which are working satisfactorily. Till March 2016, 134 Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees have been engaged. They are also working satisfactorily. Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGET) which was launched on 28.04.2014, now has a capacity of booking 15000 tickets per minute and is working satisfactorily.

Adequate safeguards have been kept in the computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) and internet booking system to prevent its misuse by unscrupulous elements.

For the benefit of different categories of travelling public, the Railways have introduced ticketing facilities at Non-Railhead locations and India Post Offices so that the ticketing system can be accessed by people living in smaller towns and villages. This is in addition to e-ticketing which provides access to reservation system from the comfort of the home/office.

In addition to the provisions made in the computerised PRS and internet ticketing system to prevent misuse of reserved ticketing system, various other steps have been taken, some of which are as under: (i) Condition of carrying original proof of identity by any one passenger booked on a reserved ticket. (ii) Agents are debarred from booking tickets during first thirty minutes of opening of booking, i.e., from 0800 to 0830 hours for general booking, 1000 to 1030 hours and 1100 to 1130 hours for Tatkal booking on AC class and Non-AC class respectively. (iii) In case of booking of reserved tickets through internet, only one booking in one user login session except for return/onward journey between 0800 and 1200 hours. (iv) The monthly limit of booking of tickets through internet by an individual user has now been revised to 6 tickets in a month instead of 10 tickets.

This Press Release based on information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 27.04.2016 (Wednesday). 

Facing problem for getting down from Train in the night at your destination

Measures to Prevent Misuse E-Ticket

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Railways

02-March-2016 16:28 IST

Measures to Prevent Misuse E-Ticket

Various remedial measures have been taken by the Railways to check the misuse of e-tickets including the following:-

1. Carrying of any one of the prescribed proofs of identity at the time of undertaking journey on e-tickets.

2. CAPTCHA has been put in place to check booking in batch mode and through Scripting related tools on the IRCTC e-ticketing website.

3. Check applied on minimum time required to enter the displayed CAPTCHA at the time of login by user, entering the Passenger details and making payment.

4. Agents are debarred from booking tickets during first thirty minutes of opening of booking i.e. from 0800 to 0830 hours for general booking, 1000 to 1030 hours and 1100 to 1130 hours for Tatkal booking on AC class and Non-AC class respectively. 5. Only one booking in one user login session except for return/onward journey between 0800 and 1200 hours. 

6. An individual user can book a maximum of 06 tickets online in a month.

7. Regular joint drives are conducted by Commercial, Vigilance and Railway Protection Force against touts. These checks are intensified during peak rush/ festival periods. Touts are apprehended and prosecuted as per Section 143 of Railway Act, 1989.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 02.03.2016 (Wednesday).

Highlights of the Railway Budget 2016-17 – An Official Report

To read, please CLICK HERE. 

New checks on booking of e-ticket/i-ticket through IRCTC

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways

28-January-2016 16:34 IST

Railway Ministry introduces new checks on booking of e-ticket/i-ticket through IRCTC website with a view to further prevent possible misuse Under the new provisions a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked online by an individual user in a month on IRCTC website This new provision will come into effect w.e.f. 15th February, 2015. The move aims to deter touts and to facilitate genuine users  

In order to facilitate genuine users and prevent touting activities, various checks have already been put in place for the booking of e-ticket/i-ticket on IRCTC website including the following : - 

1.      Individuals are allowed only 2 tickets per user-ID in a day (for ARP booking) from 08:00 hours to 10.00 hours.

2.      Individuals are allowed only 2 tickets per user-ID in a day (for Tatkal booking) from 10:00 hours to 12:00 hours.

3.      A maximum of 10 tickets can be booked online in a month by an individual.

4.      Quick Book Option is disabled from 08:00 to 12:00 hours

5.      All types of ticketing agents (YTSK, RTSA, IRCTC agents etc.) have been debarred from booking tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of booking i.e. from 08:00 to 08:30 hours for general bookings, and from 10:00 to 10:30 hours and 11:00 to 11:30 hours for Tatkal booking in AC and non-AC classes respectively.

6.      Booking is not allowed through e-wallet and cash cards from 08:00 to 12:00 hours.

7.      There is only one booking in one user login session except for return/onward journey between 08:00 to 12:00 hours.  

To further prevent any possible misuse, Ministry of Railways has now decided that effective from 15th February, 2016, a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked online by an individual user in a month on IRCTC website. This will replace the existing system under which a maximum of 10 tickets can be booked online through IRCTC website in a month by an individual. However, the existing condition will continue wherein these booking will be subject to a limit of booking 2 opening Tatkal tickets in 10:00- 12:00 hours period in a day and 2 opening Advance Reservation Period (ARP) tickets in 08:00-10:00 hours period in a day. 

This has been done keeping in view the analysis of usage of quota of 10 tickets which indicated that 90% of users are booking upto 6 tickets in a given month and only 10% are making more than 6 tickets. It is suspected that the 10% users might be involved in touting activities. Therefore to deter such touts and to facilitate genuine users, it has been decided that a maximum of 6 tickets can be booked by an individual user in a month.  

Mumbai Central to get Google’s Wi-Fi connectivity starting tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, passengers using Mumbai Central will be able to access high-speed internet as it becomes the first railway station in the country to get Google's Wi-Fi service.

This is part of Google's tie-up with state-owned RailTel Corp of India to provide Wi-Fi connectivity at 407 stations. It will be Google's biggest such project here.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, during his visit to India in December, had given a January deadline for the facility at the first station. Extending support to the Digital India initiative, Pichai had said that 100 railway stations will be covered by 2016-end. Railway officials said that the project was on track and will meet the deadline.

RailTel's fibre optic network is being used as the backbone connecting the stations. Officials told ET that high-speed connections will be available for all users, many of whom may not be online otherwise.

Pichai, on his blog, had promised connectivity that was "many times faster than what most people in India have access to today."

Passengers could use it for anything from downloading a book or a game for their journey, watching videos or researching their destination.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/