Quotas In Indian Railways

Here are some common abbreviations used in Indian Railways:

1.	GN	General Quota
2.	LD	Ladies Quota
3.	HO	Headquarters/high official Quota
4.	DF	Defence Quota
5.	PH	Parliament house Quota
6.	FT	Foreign Tourist Quota
7.	DP	Duty Pass Quota
8.	TQ	Tatkal Quota
9.	PT	Premium Tatkal Quota
10.	SS	Female(above 45 Year)/Senior Citizen/Travelling alone
11.	HP	Physically Handicapped Quota
12.	RE	Railway Employee Staff on Duty for the train
13.	GNRS	General Quota Road Side
14.	OS	Out Station
15.	PQ	Pooled Quota
16.	RC(RAC)	Reservation Against Cancellation
17.	RS	Road Side
18.	YU	Yuva
19.	LB	Lower Berth

With a view to cater to requirements of different categories of passengers served by Indian Railways, available reserved accommodation is distributed broadly under following types of reservation quotas:

S.No.	Quota	Available for
1	General	General Public
2	Tatkal	General Public
3	Premium Tatkal	General Public
4	Parliament House	Hon’ble Members of Parliament (Sitting and Former)
5	Ladies	Female passenger travelling alone or in a group of female passengers
6	Senior Citizen	Combined quota for senior citizens, female passengers above 45 years & pregnant women
7	Foreign Tourist	Foreigners
8	Defence	Defence Personnel
9	Roadside	General Public
10	Pooled	General Public
11	Cancer Patient	Cancer Patients
12	RAC(Reservation Against Cancellation)	General Public
13	Physically Handicapped	Divyangjan
14	Duty Pass	Serving/retired Railway employees travelling on Duty/Privilege/Post retirement complimentary passes etc. in specified trains
15	Railway Employees	Designated Railway employees travelling on Duty in trains
16	Yuva	Unemployed persons between the age of 15 & 45
17	Emergency	Urgent travel requirement of High Official Requisition (HOR) holders, Members of Parliament, and general public

In general quota, the time span in advance to book tickets is 120 days. It is always practical and effective to get bookings in advance as much as possible and stay away from that frustration that could happen at the last point of time. There is no doubt to the fact that when the counter opens, people start booking tickets like crazy ones and all seats get filled at a much speedier pace. The situation even worsens at the time of rush season and peak times especially at the time of festivals and special occasions.

Adding to this, at the last minute of time, people can cancel the tickets if something emergency comes up and it takes hardly a few minutes to do that and the payment gets credited back to the account within 5 to 7 business working days. In case, users are not able to get tickets in general quota, they try their luck then in tatkal quota. Well, in whichever quota you have been trying to get tickets, do make sure to be all set and ready as the counter gets open as the people looking for seats are endless and seats are limited for sure.

As per Indian Railways reservation, there are different travel quotas and classes in which users can seek for tickets and the counter timings to get open are different for them. So, be aware of all information about them and make decisions accordingly. Just for the record, in general quota, the counter timings to open are in between 8 AM to 8:30 AM, for tatkal quota, the counter timings to get open are 10 AM to 10:30 AM, for non AC tatkal quota, the counter timings to get open are in between 11 AM to 11:30 AM. Know more about different travel classes as well, and go through the following pointers.

• First class AC – If you want to travel in uttermost privacy and in luxurious and spacious coaches, it is the class you must opt for. There are many latest features and facilities in them including sliding doors, large cabins and so. Passengers are liable to utilize tailored services in them like water service bathroom, cloth hangers and more.
• Second class AC – It is less spacious as compared to first class AC but perfect for those looking for a bit of privacy and large cabins.
• Third class AC – If you just want air conditioned services and are travelling for like an overnight journey or so, it is the class to travel to. Reading lights, AC facility and likewise are been available in them and do make sure to get reservations at its earliest as could be possible as it gets filled at the quicker pace and are affordable.
• Sleeper class – If you are travelling on a bit of cash crunch or travel at more frequent intervals in the train, it is the best coach to opt to. The fare is affordable and it doesn’t have any AC facility and the cabins are usually crowded.
• AC chair car – If you need to travel only for few hours or so, it is the class in which you must travel into. People travelling in this class always can opt to get onboard e-catering food meal services, as per the desire.

Note- While booking reserved tickets through the website of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation(IRCTC), passengers can book tickets under General Quota, Ladies Quota, Foreign Tourist Quota, Premium Tatkal Quota, Tatkal Quota, Senior Citizen Quota, and Physically Handicapped (Divyangjan) Quota. In addition to the above quotas, accommodation can also be allotted under Reservation Against Cancellation(RAC) & Pooled Quota while booking reserved tickets through the website of IRCTC. These reservation quotas constitute approximately 94% of total reserved accommodation available on Indian Railways, which can be booked both through internet as well as through computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) of Indian Railways. To avoid any misuse, this facility is generally not extended for those quotas which require prior physical verification of documents. However, recently this facility has been extended to persons with disability, Press correspondents and Defense Personnel. Extension of such facilities to different categories of passengers is a continuous and ongoing exercise.

Foreign Tourist Quota (Information to be added)

Foreign Tourists (including NRIs) holding valid passports can now avail Foreign Tourist Quota facility to book railway tickets online using IRCTC eTicketing website www.irctc.co.in. International Users can book tickets under Foreign Tourist Quota upto 365 days in advance. For bookings done within the current Advance Reservation Period (ARP), berths will be allocated at the time of booking.

While for bookings done beyond the current ARP period, berths will be provided at the later stage when allotted by Railways PRS system at the time of opening the ARP. Users will be notified about berth allocation through the International SMS facility. At present, ARP on Indian Railways is 120 days.

Ticket Booking

• After successful login select “Foreign Tourist Ticket Booking” link under “Services”, option of IRCTC eTicketing website.
• Users can book tickets under Foreign Tourist Quota upto 365 days in advance.
• Available classes of travel under Foreign Tourist Quota are Executive Class (EC), 1st AC (1A) and 2nd AC (2A).
• User has to provide a valid Passport Number of each passenger at the time of booking tickets.
• All SMS communications from IRCTC will be sent on a mobile number submitted and verified by the user while updating profile.
• For payment of ticket booking amount, User has the option to make payment using an International Debit/Credit card.
• After successful payment and booking of ticket, Booking SMS and confirmation mail will be sent on registered mobile number and e-mail id respectively.

Charges

1. a) Registration Charge:

• Registration / profile updation (mobile number) fee for International /NRI User is Rs. 100 + GST.

1. b) Convenience fee:

• There is a Convenience fee of Rs.200 + GST per ticket booked in addition to Rail Ticket fare under Foreign Tourist Quota through IRCTC eTicketing website.

Cancer patient quota

At present this quota has been earmarked in Sleeper/AC-3 tier classes for Cancer Patient traveling either alone or accompanied by attendant on eligible concession order in 9 trains originating from Mumbai area of Central Railway.

For Cancer Patients(traveling alone) - 100%

Concession in 3 AC & SL, 75%

Concession in II, I, AC-CC & 50%

Concession in 2AC & 1 AC classes.

For escortes - 75% concession in II, SL, I, AC-CC & 3 AC & 50% in AC & 2 AC.

The matter has been further reviewed and it has been decided as under:-

(i) The cancer patients and their attendants traveling on concessional tickets issued in exchange of concession certificate as mentioned in column 4 of S.N.11 of Annexure of Rule 101 of IRCA Coaching Tariff Part I, Vol-II approaching for reservation will be provided accommodation out of the general quota, if vacant at the time of booking.

(ii) In case all the confirmed berths are already booked, computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) will automatically access Emergency Quota and provide them confirmed berths out of the Emergency Quota of that class earmarked at originating/intermediate station, whose general quota was being accessed.

(iii) Hence the cancer patients traveling with their attendants would now be provided accommodation in following sequence:-

• a) General quota- to the extent available(till waitlist is started)
• b) Cancer quota – to the extent available, wherever defined.
• c) Emergency quota- to the extent available.
• d) General wait list.

(iv) The emergency quota controlling authority before releasing the emergency quota will first check with the PRS terminal and should allot only the left over available berths in emergency quota so as to avoid any excess allotment of berths out of the emergency quota i.e. in case out of 20 berths earmarked as emergency quota in any class in a train, six berths has already been allotted to cancer patients and their attendants at the booking counter itself, the emergency quota controlling authority will release only 14 berths.

(v) In case subsequent to release of Emergency Quota, the number of actual availability of berths/seats gets reduced due to booking by Cancer Patients, Quota controlling authority would reduce the emergency quota allotment to that extent.

(vi) If any berth(s) booked by Cancer patient(s) against Emergency Quota is canceled before preparation of charts, the same should revert to the Emergency Quota.

RAC Quota

Railway reservation Against Cancellation(RAC) is the quota of Indian railways which accommodates two passengers on a berth. A traveler bearing a RAC ticket can travel in the respective train but a person in the waiting list is not allowed to do so. Generally, tickets issued under RAC quota get confirmed after passing of some stations or could also become confirmed tickets in case of cancellation of confirmed or RAC tickets. The holder of RAC ticket remains after the cancellation of tickets by other passengers enjoying a full berth for the rest of the journey.

How Many RAC Seats Get Confirmed in Sleeper Class

Class : Sleeper (SL)

• No. of additional berths to be provided for RAC passengers : 2 Side Lower berths
• No. of additional RAC passengers to be provided sitting accommodation : 4
• Total No. of berths to be earmarked for RAC passengers : 7 (Side Lower)
• Total Number of RAC passengers to be provided confirmed accommodation : 14

How Many RAC Tickets Get Confirmed in 3AC

Class : 3 AC

• No. of additional berths to be provided for RAC passengers : 2 Side Lower Berths
• No. of additional RAC passengers to be provided sitting accommodation : 4
• Total No. of berths to be earmarked for RAC passengers : 4 (Side Lower)
• Total Number of RAC passengers to be provided confirmed accommodation : 8

How Many RAC Tickets Get Confirmed in 2AC

Class : 2 AC

• No. of additional berths to be provided for RAC passengers : 1 Side Lower Berths
• No. of additional RAC passengers to be provided sitting accommodation : 2
• Total No. of berths to be earmarked for RAC passengers : 3 (Side Lower)
• Total Number of RAC passengers to be provided confirmed accommodation : 6

Cancellation Charges for RAC or Waitlisted Tickets

(a) In case e-tickets shall be cancelled online or online TDR shall be filed within the time limits prescribed under these rules for obtaining refund.

(b) Where a RAC ticket or wait-listed ticket is presented for cancellation, the refund of fare shall be made after deducting the clerkage if the ticket is present for cancellation upto thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of the distance.

Clerkage Charge :

• Upto 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of the distance : Clerkage charge Rs.60 per passenger plus GST applicable for all AC Classes

(c) No refund shall be granted on RAC ticket or wait-listed ticket after thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.

(d) Where confirmed reservation has been provided to RAC or wait-listed ticket holder at any time upto final preparation of reservation chart, such ticket shall be treated as a reserved ticket and cancellation charges shall be payable in accordance with clause 1 (Cancellation Charges for Confirmed Tickets)

Road Side Quota

Smaller intermediate stations that do not participate in the networked computerized reservation system issue tickets from specific quotas, known as RoadSide Quotas (‘RS’) Want to know the meaning of RoadSide quota in Indian Railways? If yes, read on the following and you will get a brief of the same. It is another one of the many waiting list types and RSWL – Road Side station waiting list is allotted when the seats or berths are booked from the originating/source station for travel up to the roadside junction. The distance restrictions in the same might not be applicable. Adding to this, this waiting list status quota has also very less chances of getting confirmation.

In case, the ticket is booked from one intermediate station to another intermediate junction and it is not covered as the pooled quota or the remote location quota or general quota, then booking for a ticket might turn to a request waiting list that is RQWL. Is the information clear and useful for you? Did you get to know of the road side waiting list quota? Well, there are other quotas as well that are defined by the Railways and it is preferable to know the meaning of them. Like, there is ladies quota, defence quota, premium tatkal quota, yuva quota, handicapped quota, general quota, tatkal quota, senior citizen quota, etc. To know the meaning of them, simply get to Indian Railways reservation, know the meaning and if you want to book a ticket under the same, check for the seat availability in respective train and accordingly go for the reservations.

Railway Employee Staff on Duty for the train Quota(RE Quota)

Want to know about the meaning of Railway Employee Staff on Duty for the train Quota (RE Quota)? If yes, here you will come to know of the same for sure. As per this quota, it could be applied by those railway officials and employees who used to travel from one place to another in order to perform their duty. In almost all the trains, the department of Railways have reserved a few seats under this quota and any of the railway employees can travel in this quota and could use it as a duty pass, post retirement complimentary pass or as a privilege pass.

Aside from this quota in Indian Railways, there are other quotas too that are defined and depicted by the department like general quota, ladies quota, defence quota, high official or headquarters quota, duty pass quota, parliament house quota, tatkal quota, premium tatkal quota, physically handicapped quota, pooled quota, roadside quota, Yuva quota, lower berth quota, general quota road side, and more. It is always advisable to know about each one of them and always travel with safety and get the reservations in which they are applicable. To know about the seat availability in such classes of travel, do make sure to have a look at the Indian Railways reservations and get the reservations always on time to avoid any disappointment for the last minute of time.

Pooled quota

Read on the following and you will get an idea of the same for sure. Do understand the very first thing about these tickets is that such kinds of tickets have very less chances of getting confirmation. PQWL or pooled quota waiting lists are shared by many small stations. These quotas usually operate from the source station of a route that is followed by the train, and for the entire run, there is only one pooled quota defined and allotted. The person who gets the reservation in pooled quota, the status will change to confirmation only if on the list; someone from the tatkal booking ticket cancels the reservation.

In case you have a pooled quota waiting list ticket of 10 or above, there is likely no chance to get it confirmed. This pooled quota is basically one of the many waiting list types that are shown on the reservation tickets. Is the information clear to you all? Just for the knowledge, there are different quotas available too that are defined by the Indian Railways department. So, be aware of them especially if you are a frequent train traveller and make sure to get the bookings under the same. Some of them are senior citizen quota, yuva quota, roadside quota, outstation quota, premium tatkal quota, ladies quota, etc. Get to Indian Railways reservation, know the meaning of them and as per the seat availability, do get the bookings on time.

• A Pooled Quota Waiting List (PQWL) is shared by several small stations.
• Pooled Quotas normally operate only from the originating station of a route, and there is only one Pooled Quota for the entire run.
• The Pooled Quota is generally allotted for passengers travelling from the originating station to a station short of the terminating station, or from an intermediate station to the terminating station, or between two intermediate stations.
• Waiting List ( Can not travel if booked online ).
• It gets automatically cancelled on chart preparation & Refund will be automatically credited in the Bank Account in 3 to 7 days.

Out station quota

Do you want to know the meaning of Out Station quota in Indian railways? If yes, read on the following and you will get to know the same for sure. There are many other different types of quotas for reservations for varied categories of travelers aside from the ones that are meant for intermediate junctions. One of them is OS – Out Station quota, referred to as the ticketing agencies in other towns.

The others are FT – Foreign Tourist quota meant for foreigners, PH – Parliament House quota for high bureaucrats and ministers and staff of parliament, EQ – Emergency Quota for the ones who require to travel in emergency conditions, DF – Defense Quota for defense officials, HO – High Official or Head Office quota for railway officials, HP – Handicapped Person quota for all handicapped users, DP – Duty Pass quota for all railway employees and their relevant family members and LQ – Ladies quota for all ladies travelers.

Theoretically, each one of them, even the out station quota has its own waiting list and the abbreviation is followed by WL for the same, like OSWL. Hope the information is clear to you all. Do know about other quotas that are defined by the Railways

General Quota Road Side

Want to know the meaning of RoadSide quota in Indian Railways? If yes, read on the following and you will get a brief of the same. It is another one of the many waiting list types and RSWL – RoadSide station waiting list is allotted when the seats or berths are booked from the originating/source station for travel up to the roadside junction. The distance restrictions in the same might not be applicable. Adding to this, this waiting list status quota has also very less chances of getting confirmation.

In case, the ticket is booked from one intermediate station to another intermediate junction and it is not covered as the pooled quota or the remote location quota or general quota, then booking for a ticket might turn to a request waiting list that is RQWL. Is the information clear and useful for you? Did you get to know of the road side waiting list quota? Well, there are other quotas as well that are defined by the Railways and it is preferable to know the meaning of them. Like, there is ladies quota, defense quota, premium tatkal quota, yuva quota, handicapped quota, general quota, tatkal quota, senior citizen quota, etc.