If you are someone who relies on booking tickets through the railway's emergency quota, there's an important update. Indian Railways has revised the rules for submitting emergency quota requests. As per the new guidelines issued by the Railway Ministry, passengers must now file their request at least a day in advance of the train's scheduled departure. Here's what else the Ministry has revealed about the revised guidelines.
What did the Railways say?
A circular related to the change in the rules of emergency quota has been issued by the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday. This circular states, "Emergency quota request for all the trains leaving between 0000 hours and 1400 hours should reach the EQ cell up to 1200 hours on the previous day of journey."
"Emergency quota request for all the remaining trains leaving between 1401 hours and 2359 hours should reach the EQ cell up to 1600 hours on the previous day of journey," it added.
Why has this decision been taken?
The railway ministry has revised the timing for submitting emergency quota requests, following its recent decision to finalise the reservation chart eight hours before a train's departure.
Earlier, the Railway Board had proposed to prepare the reservation chart of the train 8 hours in advance instead of 4 hours. For trains departing before 14:00, the chart was said to be prepared at 21:00 on the previous day. Apart from this, there was also talk of making changes in the passenger reservation system from the Railways. From July 1, the rules for Tatkal ticket booking have changed. Now, only verified users can book Tatkal tickets. (input language)
As per the new guidelines, requests made on the same day as the train's departure will no longer be accepted.
For Sundays and public holidays, the ministry has specified that requests for emergency quota accommodation, especially for trains departing on Sundays or holidays immediately following a Sunday, must be submitted during office hours on the last working day before the holiday.
The circular also highlighted that the Railway Board's reservation cell receives a high volume of requests from VIPs, railway officials, senior bureaucrats, and various government 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.
(With PTI inputs)
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