Indian Railways will prepare two reservation charts before the departure of trains from November 18.

The first chart (first reservation chart) would be prepared at least four hours prior to departure to enable passengers to know their ticket status and plan their journey properly, said a statement from Western Railway.

Advance chart Passengers who want to travel at the last minute may then use the first reservation chart to ascertain availability of berths and book tickets over the reservation counters or the internet as reservations would be thrown open again.

Waitlisted passengers and those holding seats but not berths (reservation against cancellation or RAC) will be given the option to cancel their tickets up to 30 minutes prior to departure of the train, failing which they will have to forfeit the money. Earlier, refund on RAC /waitlisted tickets could be sought over the counter up to three hours after the departure of the train.

Final chart A second (and final) reservation chart will be prepared before the departure of train and handed over to onboard ticket checking staff. This move seeks to ensure optimum utilisation of train accommodation and enhanced earnings for the Railways.

However, passengers can book/cancel/modify the tickets even after the preparation of first reservation chart but up to 30 minutes prior to the departure of train across any PRS counters as well as on internet (e-ticket) as per extant provision of refund rules.

A week ago, Indian Railways had doubled its cancellation charges per passenger, for each of its classes to ₹240 for 1st AC, ₹200 for 2nd AC, ₹180 for 3rd AC, ₹120 for sleeper class and ₹60 for second class.

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