subject: Railway Reservation In India [print this page] One of the Worlds largest rail network the ticketing and reservation system is as mind boggling. The railway network is a creation of the British during their rule over India. The rail network was originally created to transport wood from deep interiors of India to its ports.
The creation of railway network was a boon to Indians as well. It is one of the most extensive yet cheapest transportation modes in the country as well as in the World. Indias burgeoning population needs this transportation. It is has vast inter connectivity making it possible to reach any part of the country easily.
The accommodation is in two forms.
General compartment: For which one buys a bare ticket without any reservation status.
Reserved compartment: For prior reservation is required.
The ticket is available on a chain of counters established at railway stations or booths. For availing a reserved ticket one needs to go through a formality. The reservation is granted depending upon seat availability. A simple form has to be filled and submitted at the reservation counter. The form contents are train details, reservation details personal information and date. Once this data is filled up the form submitted is used by the clerk to check seat availability using a networked computer. If the seat availability is there then a ticket is allocated through a printer. In case of non availability of seat or berth the status shows as unreserved and a wait list position is printed on the ticket. Subsequently passengers higher on wait list are allocated RAC status that accords them a seat on sharing basis.
The ticketing can be done online as well on online ticket reservation website. The IRCTC website provides online reservation facility. Both I ticket and eticket can be booked online. The former is delivered to the address of the passenger while the latter can be obtained as a print out. In case of online bookings the passenger has to carry an identification paper. This is a must and has to be shown to the Ticket Collector or TC along with the printed ticket.
With online payment system it is easy and fast to book railway tickets for ones journey. This has also curbed load on ticketing counters. The PNR number printed on the ticket is used to obtain information about reservation status. This can be done using IRCTC search tool or tools on other websites. Though reservation information is obtained online by submitting the PNR; it is better to wait for sometime before recheck in case confirmation is not obtained. This is due to regular chart updates by the railways.
