Indian Railways Tweaks Emergency Quota Rules, Big Relief For Common Passengers
Emergency quota seats are reserved for VIPs, railway staff, and passengers with medical emergencies. However, misuse of this facility and last-minute requests often delayed chart preparation, affecting the confirmation of waiting list tickets and causing inconvenience to passengers.
Under the new rule, passengers seeking an EQ ticket must now submit their request at least a day in advance.
"Emergency quota request for all the trains leaving between 0000 hours and 1400 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1200 hours on the previous day of journey," said a circular issued by the ministry on Tuesday.
"Emergency quota request for all the remaining trains leaving between 14.01 hours and 23.59 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1600 hours on the previous day of journey," it added.
The ministry has clarified that the requests received on the same day of the scheduled departure of a train will not be entertained.
Regarding Sundays or any other public holidays, the ministry has said the requests for the release of accommodation in trains, for which the emergency quota is to be released on Sundays or clubbed holidays after Sundays, should be given during office hours on the previous working day.
The circular said the reservation cell of the Railway Board receives a large number of requests from VIPs, railway officers, senior officers and other departments.
"All efforts are made to allot the quota judiciously and with common prudence," it said.
The ministry has urged all officers to adhere to these timings so that the allotments are given in time and chart preparation is not delayed, which not only results in extreme difficulties to the travelling public but can also lead to a delay in the departure of trains.
It has also requested the forwarding authority to ensure the genuineness of the person under reference and also ensure strict compliance to existing guidelines regarding the allotment of the emergency quota.
The move is aimed at streamlining the ticketing process, ensuring charts are prepared on time, and improving punctuality. For common passengers, this change means they will know the confirmation status of their waiting list tickets earlier, reducing uncertainty before travel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
Vande Bharat Express trains occupancy analysis: How are trains performing?
Indian Railways, Vande Bharat Express: Indian Railways (IR) has introduced Vande Bharat Express trains to provide better travel experience to the passengers. Manufactured by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), these semi-high-speed trains are equipped with modern coaches, advanced safety features and passenger amenities. At present, a total of 144 Vande Bharat Express trains are running across various routes in the country. Of these, 22 Vande Bharat train services catering to the needs of various stations located in Maharashtra and eight Vande Bharat train services are catering to the needs of various stations of Madhya Pradesh. According to the latest data, the Vande Bharat Express trains have been running with over 100 per cent on all routes. The overall occupancy of Vande Bharat Express trains in the financial year 2024-25 is 102.01 per cent. However, in the ongoing fiscal year i.e. FY26, the passenger occupancy of these new age trains are 105.03 per cent (till June 2025). 'The overall occupancy of Vande Bharat Express trains in Financial Year 2024-25 & 2025-26 (till June, 2025) is 102.01% & 105.03% respectively,' Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday (July 30, 2025). Currently, Vande Bharat Express trains are running in three different coach variants – 8, 16, and 20 coaches. The train offers two types of seating arrangements: Chair Car (CC) and Executive Chair Car (EC). Anish Mondal is a business journalist with over nine years of experience. He writes on diverse subjects such as Infrastructure, Railways, Roadways, Aviation, Politics, Market, Parliamentary affairs, Corporate earnings, General and International news etc. ... Read More
Hans India
6 hours ago
- Hans India
Puri-Rourkela Vande Bharat to get more coaches
Bhubaneswar: The Indian Railways has decided to double the number of coaches in Puri–Rourkela–Puri Vande Bharat Express from 8 to 16 from August 7, officials said on Wednesday. The upgraded rake composition will now consist of 12 AC chair cars, two executive chair cars and two crew chair car coaches. The decision was taken in view of the overwhelming response from passengers. Since its launch, the 20836/20835 Vande Bharat Express has operated at more than 110 per cent capacity, reflecting its rising popularity among travellers. 'Train No. 20836 (Puri–Rourkela) recorded 112.76 per cent occupancy, while Train No. 20835 (Rourkela–Puri) recorded 127.64 per cent. This high patronage reflects strong demand among daily commuters, business travellers and tourists alike,' they said. The enhanced capacity will allow more passengers to avail the benefits of a faster, more comfortable and technologically advanced mode of transport. The initiative is also expected to boost regional connectivity, tourism and economic growth in the State. The Puri–Rourkela Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train that connects Puri to Rourkela, covering a distance of 505 km in 7.5 hours. The train operates six days a week, except Tuesdays, with departures from Puri at 5 am and from Rourkela at 2.10 pm. This train has stoppages atnine stations: Khurda Road Junction, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur city and Jharsuguda Junction.
NDTV
13 hours ago
- NDTV
Non-AC Coaches In Indian Railways Increase To 70% With Focus On Poor
New Delhi: The percentage of non-AC coaches in trains run by Indian Railways has significantly increased to about 70 per cent, and a special manufacturing programme is being implemented to produce an additional 17,000 non-AC general and sleeper coaches over the next 5 years, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Wednesday. Indian Railways have significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel. During the last financial year 2024-25 alone, 1,250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains. Indian Railways continues to run a large number of trains with affordable fare structures, including Mail, Express and passenger trains, for the benefit of the general public including the poor and lower middle class. Indian Railways has introduced non-AC Amrit Bharat services and Namo Bharat Rapid Rail services, providing high quality services to a larger section of the population, particularly lower income groups, the minister said. Indian Railways has also provisioned for production of another 100 Amrit Bharat Trains, he added. Vaishnaw highlighted that due to higher availability of general coaches, the number of passengers travelling in general/unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend, going up from 553 crore in 2022-23 to 609 crore in 2023-24 and 651 crore in 2024-25. The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has now gone up to 54 lakh which constitutes 78 per cent of the total while AC seats comprise the remaining 22 per cent. To provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches, the extant policy regarding composition of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 General class & Sleeper class non- AC coaches and 8 AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches, Vaishnaw explained. Further, to cater to the needs of passengers desirous of availing unreserved accommodation, Indian Railways operate unreserved non-AC passenger trains/MEMU/EMU etc. for affordable travel, which are in addition to the unreserved accommodation (coaches) available in Mail/Express services. Development of Amrit Bharat Express trains, manufacturing of MEMU trains, and increasing the share of general coaches clearly shows that Indian Railways is catering effectively to the demand for travel in general class, the minister further stated. Indian Railways has introduced fully non-AC Amrit Bharat trains, presently comprising 11 General Class coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 1 Pantry car and 2 Second class cum Luggage cum Guard Van & Disabled Friendly Compartment. These trains have been designed and manufactured to cater to the needs of the general public by providing world-class modern and comfortable rail travel experience to passengers of the non-AC segment.g (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
