Travel in premier trains at mail/express fare from Apr 1

NEW DELHI: In a move aimed at providing a major relief to the waitlisted passengers, the Indian Railways has decided to introduce the provision of alternate accommodation ‘Vikalp' for rail passengers.

According to a senior Railway official, under the scheme travellers would be given an opportunity to select the next available trains where seats under the same class would be available. The ‘Vikalp' option will be available from April 1.

As per the scheme, the passengers would neither be charged extra or any refund would be provided for the difference of fare when their travellers would be provided confirm berth either in premier trains or express.

“If a passenger has booked ticket in mail/express train and his/her ticket get confirmed in Rajdhani or Shatabdi trains, then in this case, the passenger would not be charged extra for availing the ambiance of Rajdhani. Similarly, if a waitlisted ticket of premier trains get confirmed in mail/express then the passenger would not be refunded the fare difference under the Vikalp scheme,” the official said.

As per the scheme, waitlisted passengers of a train would be given option of getting confirmed accommodation in the next train running on the route. While there is a huge demand for train berths in certain sector round the year, some routes witness increased rush during festive season.

The passenger, if opts for the ‘Vikalp' scheme while booking tickets, will get SMS alert on his/her mobile phone about getting confirmed accommodation in the alternative train. The name of the passenger who has been provided accommodation in the alternative train will not figure in the waitlisted charts of their original train and thus a separate list of passengers transferred in alternative

train will be pasted along with the confirmed and waitlist charts.

“Railways is launching a new scheme from April 1 under which waitlisted passengers will get confirmed accommodation in the next alternative train if they opt for the option while booking their tickets. This is presently available in four trains but next month onwards the scheme has been thrown open for all trains across the country,” the official said.

The Vikalp scheme aims to utilise vacant berths also in many premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and other special service such as Suvidha trains in all major routes.