We have all booked train tickets to travel at some point in our lives. Mostly, we get waitlisted and hope to get our tickets confirmed before the day of our travel. But, does that always happen? Recently, an RTI query brought to light a whopping number of people who were denied train travel in 2022–23. Even though they bought a ticket, their PNRs were cancelled after being waitlisted. This number was 1.65 crore in FY 2021–22, and the shortage of trains was responsible for the rise in numbers.
2.70 Crore Passengers Were Denied Train Travel In 2022-23
In Madhya Pradesh, an activist, Chandra Shekhar Gaur, filed an RTI plea. In response to that plea, the Railway Board revealed the whopping number of Passenger Name Record (PNR) numbers cancelled in the fiscal year 2022–23. This reply revealed that 2.72 crore passengers who were scheduled to travel were denied after 1.76 crore PNRs were automatically cancelled due to being waitlisted.
Comparing these numbers with those in the fiscal year 2021–22, there has been a significant rise. The 1.65 crore passengers who bought their tickets in 2021–22 couldn’t travel after 1.06 crore PNRs were waitlisted and then automatically cancelled. Even though the ticket amount is refunded to passengers after their PNRs are cancelled, this inability to provide confirmed tickets has become a major issue for the Indian Railways.
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The Board Is Taking Steps To Rectify The Situation
According to a Zee News report, these numbers had been rapidly decreasing in the last few years until they drastically rose in 2021–22. The number of PNRs cancelled in 2014–15 was 1.13 crore. Next year, in 2015-16, the cancelled PNR number came down to 81.05 lakh and further down to 72.13 lakh in 2016-17. In FY 2017-18, the number of cancelled PNRs stood at 73 lakh and decreased to 68.97 lakh in 2018-19.
As per the official figures, a much more significant decrease was recorded in 2020–21. 61 lakh passengers travelling against 38.89 PNRs were waitlisted and their tickets then cancelled. After these numbers were released, the Railway Board also specified that they have been taking steps to reduce the number of passengers getting waitlisted altogether. They are focusing on increasing the number of available trains and meeting the demands of train travel.
Highlighting their efforts, an official stated that the number of trains has gone up from 10,186 trains to 10,678 trains after the pandemic. The official also declared that the ongoing network signalling and track work will also aid in putting more trains into service.
No. of trains before the pandemic: 10,186
No. of trains now: 10,678
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