<p>New Delhi: In a stark reflection of India's growing rail capacity crisis, more than 3.39 crore passengers were unable to travel during the 2025-26 financial year as their waitlisted tickets failed to get confirmed and were automatically cancelled.</p><p>According to data obtained by <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/right-to-information">RTI</a> activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur from the Ministry of Railways, an average of nearly 92,877 passengers faced automatic cancellations every day — equivalent to more than one passenger every second.</p><p>The problem has worsened steadily over the years, underscoring a widening gap between surging demand and available berths: 2021-22: 1.65 crore passengers affected, 2022-23: 1.72 crore passengers affected, 2023-24: 2.96 crore passengers, 2024-25: 3.27 crore passengers, 2025-26: 3.39 crore passengers. </p>.Railways achieves 98 percent utilisation of its budgetary allocation for FY26: Ashwini Vaishnaw.<p>Class-wise, Sleeper Class and AC 3-tier bore the brunt of the crisis.</p><p> More than 1.05 crore passengers in Sleeper Class had their tickets cancelled, while 74.55 lakh passengers in 3AC were affected. </p><p>In higher classes, 16.41 lakh PNRs in 2AC impacted nearly 24.21 lakh passengers, and 2.78 lakh PNRs in First AC affected around 3.85 lakh passengers.</p><p>Activists and rail experts have attributed the rising numbers to a severe shortage of trains and confirmed berths, particularly on high-demand routes.</p><p> Despite the introduction of special trains, they argue that infrastructure development has not kept pace with passenger growth.The consistent year-on-year rise signals the urgent need for the Railways to significantly augment its fleet and infrastructure to meet the soaring demand for rail travel</p>
<p>New Delhi: In a stark reflection of India's growing rail capacity crisis, more than 3.39 crore passengers were unable to travel during the 2025-26 financial year as their waitlisted tickets failed to get confirmed and were automatically cancelled.</p><p>According to data obtained by <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/right-to-information">RTI</a> activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur from the Ministry of Railways, an average of nearly 92,877 passengers faced automatic cancellations every day — equivalent to more than one passenger every second.</p><p>The problem has worsened steadily over the years, underscoring a widening gap between surging demand and available berths: 2021-22: 1.65 crore passengers affected, 2022-23: 1.72 crore passengers affected, 2023-24: 2.96 crore passengers, 2024-25: 3.27 crore passengers, 2025-26: 3.39 crore passengers. </p>.Railways achieves 98 percent utilisation of its budgetary allocation for FY26: Ashwini Vaishnaw.<p>Class-wise, Sleeper Class and AC 3-tier bore the brunt of the crisis.</p><p> More than 1.05 crore passengers in Sleeper Class had their tickets cancelled, while 74.55 lakh passengers in 3AC were affected. </p><p>In higher classes, 16.41 lakh PNRs in 2AC impacted nearly 24.21 lakh passengers, and 2.78 lakh PNRs in First AC affected around 3.85 lakh passengers.</p><p>Activists and rail experts have attributed the rising numbers to a severe shortage of trains and confirmed berths, particularly on high-demand routes.</p><p> Despite the introduction of special trains, they argue that infrastructure development has not kept pace with passenger growth.The consistent year-on-year rise signals the urgent need for the Railways to significantly augment its fleet and infrastructure to meet the soaring demand for rail travel</p>
