Railway Board Shortens Advance Reservation Period From 120 Days To 60 Days, Here's Why

The Railway Board lowered the Advance Reservation Period of seats for train travels from 120 days to 60 days, citing high cancellation rates and berth waste. The board planned to expand the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) from 60 to 120 days in 2015 but reversed course on Thursday. The new ARP will go into effect on November 1.

“Railway advance reservation period has undergone changes from time to time. Advance Reservation Period has varied from 30 days to 120 days. Based on the experience of various periods, 60 days Advance Reservation Period has been observed as the optimal period from passenger point of view,” a press statement from the board said.

Additionally, it included a table that demonstrated how, starting in April 1981, choices were altered 12 times until April 1, 2015, increasing or decreasing ARP between 120 and 30 days.

It emphasised the advantages of the 60-day reservation period and said that 120 days was too lengthy for planning, leading to a large number of cancellations and the waste of seats and berths due to customers who failed to show up for trips.

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According to the board, there are now approximately 21 percent cancellations and 4-5 percent customers who do not show up for their train ride.

“In many cases, it is seen that passengers do not cancel their tickets and do not turn up for journeys. And this leads to frauds such as impersonation, railway officials taking money illegally etc. Now, this can be prevented,” the press note said.

It added, “With longer periods, there was a greater chance of some people blocking the tickets. Shorter periods will encourage more tickets by genuine passengers.”

The board stated that there is no impact on general class tickets because they are purchased immediately before the trip.