Restoring the pre-Covid system of preparing second reservation chart half-an-hour before departure time, from October 10 railway seats will be available even five minutes before the train leaves the station.
Regular passenger train services were suspended in the wake of the pandemic.
But the Indian Railways is restoring the pre-Covid practices in a staggered manner and also running special trains.
According to the old norm, second reservation charts will be prepared 30 minutes before the schedule departure of trains from stations. When the Indian Railways started special passenger trains amid the pandemic, the second reservation chart was being prepared two hours before the schedule departure.
Also, train tickets can be booked until second reservation chart is prepared.
The first chart is prepared at least four hours before the scheduled departure. If seats become vacant owing to cancellation, they can be booked through PRS counters and online till the preparation of the second chart. Tickets can also be cancelled during this time, as per the provisions of the refund rules.
With the festive season coming, Railways has already announced 39 pairs of new special trains. No official date has been announced yet, but they will be operational between October 15 and November 30.
