 "A wait of almost two decades for the people of South Assam (Barak Valley) to have broad-gauge rail connectivity has finally come to an end as Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off the first passenger train service on the newly conver")
With positive feedback from passengers for its “Vikalp” initiative, the Indian Railways has decided to launch the alternative train accommodation scheme for wait-listed passengers on five new routes.
Under the scheme, wait-listed passengers are allowed to get confirmed accommodation in the next alternative train if they choose that option while booking tickets online. The scheme, launched on a pilot basis last November, was so far available on the Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Jammu routes.
The five new routes are Delhi-Howrah, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Secunderabad.
The Vikalp scheme introduced in October 2015 will be expanded to provide choice of accommodation in specific trains to wait-listed passengers,” Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu had said in his speech for the 2016-17 Budget.
As per the latest decision, the expanded scheme would provide the option of alternative accommodation irrespective of whether the boarding and destination stations of the passenger are originating and terminating stations on the route.
The expanded scheme is being introduced on the five new routes on a pilot basis for six months and the railway board has asked Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the rail ministry's technincal arm, to make necessary modifications in the ticketing software.
