Railways to prepare final chart 24 hours in advance

New Delhi: In an effort to provide greater clarity to passengers, Indian Railways is working on to release the confirmed status chart of waiting list 24 hours before a train’s departure instead of current just four hours before.

The railways has launched a trial run from the Bikaner Division on this issue. Based on public feedback, it will take a call on making it permanent feature, said an official in the railways. 

“We have started this pilot project in the Bikaner Division, where charts are being prepared 24 hours before the train departure. The current practice is doing so before 4 hours,” Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said.

He emphasised that the trial addressed the concerns of passengers who face uncertainty of travelling with waiting tickets. 

“If passengers know 24 hours before that their tickets are confirmed, they can plan their travel better,” he added

Announcement of reservation chart 24 hours before also help to passengers reaching railway stations from long distance places. This also give clarity to passengers having long wait listed whether their ticket will be confirmed or not. Besides, this also benefit to passengers to make alternative travel arrangements  if their seats not confirmed, said the official. 

Railways releases reservation charts at two stages. The first chart was generated four hours before the train’s scheduled departure and  the final chart was released around 30 minutes before departure.