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If you have booked a ticket for reserved train travel and are not sure about the allotted berth, you need not fret any longer. The Railways will soon start sending free text message alerts to your mobile phone about the reservation status.
The SMS service will be useful primarily for those who have booked waitlisted or reservation against cancellation (RAC) train tickets.
The alerts sent after chart preparation, which is normally done three-four hours before the train’s departure, will convey the actual berth and coach number for passengers, whose final chart status has changed compared with the initial booked status. SMS alerts will also be sent in case of ticket upgradation or seat re-allotment. At present, passengers access the Indian Railways website, call up or seek SMS-based alerts from the Railway enquiry number — all of which involve payment of charges. Passengers also use some websiteswhere they can register and get alerts as and when the status of reservation changes.
“The text messages will be generated five days preceding the travel date if there are any changes in the booking status,” said Devi Prasad Pandey, Member-Traffic, Railway Board. The service will be free as of now, Pandey said, declining to share the expense that Railways would have to undertake.
Railways gets about 2.5 lakh queries through text messages and websites. It is estimated that about four lakh text messages will be sent on daily basis.
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