Good news for train travellers as railways plans to get rid of the 'waiting list' soon

The demand for a seat in trains across India is never-ending, and the railway administration, every year, faces a struggle with a long list of passengers waiting for a travel confirmation. On the other hand, passengers travelling by train have to book tickets well in advance to ensure they get a confirmed seat on the train, failing to do which results in waiting.

With an aim to address this issue and simplify the process, the administration is working on a plan to operate trains as per the demand of the passengers. This decision is said to benefit both the railways and the passengers as it will permanently eliminate the hassle of waiting lists in long-haul trains.

The administration has set this as a target of 'Vision 2024' which will focus on increasing revenue by reducing losses. Accordingly, the railway administration intends to implement this scheme by 2024.

Reports, state that this will be applicable not only in Maharashtra but all over the country, whereby passengers travelling on a regular basis, especially during festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, Ganeshotsav, Chhat Puja, Baisakhi, Onam etc. will not have to be disappointed. Furthermore, demands also rise during the summer holidays where a large number of travellers prefer leaving home for holidays.

Train tickets in India have to be booked a few months in advance, and often one has to wait for the ticket to be confirmed. But if the railways run the services on demand, seats will be available to all passengers, and if the railways implement the same, then the administration will also benefit with an increase in revenue. Furthermore, there will not be a need for a waiting list.

Currently, the board is currently considering ways to plan the 'trains as per demand' and according to this vision, the target will be to increase freight traffic to 2024 million tonnes by 2024. In 2019, 1210 million tonnes of goods were transported by the railways.

Data revealed by Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav states that the railway vision 2024 is expected to cost INR 2.9 lakh crore, and the plan might be approved within the next month. 

In the current coronavirus pandemic times, the department has been able to generate a revenue of only INR 4,600 crore as the trains weren't operational. In the near future, officials expect total revenue of INR 15,000 crore.