Railways hikes AC waiting list quota to 60 pc, revokes earlier 25 pc cap after backlash

New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways has revised its recent decision and increased the cap on the waiting list for all air-conditioned (AC) classes from 25 per cent to 60 per cent, and to 30 per cent for non-AC classes, as per a fresh directive.

The earlier directive, dated April 17, had instructed all zones and the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) to cap the waiting list across all travel classes at 25 per cent. This was subsequently implemented in the reservation system from June 16.

However, just under two weeks later, the Ministry reversed course. “Just 12 days after implementing the order to cap all waiting lists at 25 per cent of the total seats/berths of travelling classes, the Ministry realised its mistake and almost reversed its decision,” a senior official from the Ministry told PTI on condition of anonymity.

According to the latest circular issued on Saturday, “The matter has been reviewed and in super cession of the earlier instruction dated 17.04.2025 it has been decided that the maximum current waiting list limits will be revised to 60 per cent and 30 per cent of the redefined capacity of each class available at originating as well as roadside stations for air-conditioned and non air-conditioned classes respectively.”

The revised system will also apply to waitlisted tickets issued from remote locations, including those booked under the Tatkal scheme, the circular stated.

This waiting list provision, however, will not extend to tickets issued under concessional fares, military warrants and similar schemes. “To enable issuing of waiting list tickets from remote locations having zero defined berths, some waiting list limit shall be pre-defined based on demand pattern,” it added.

As PTI had earlier reported, the decision to cap the waiting list at 25 per cent had raised concerns among reservation supervisors, booking clerks and senior commercial officers, who criticised it as impractical and financially detrimental to the Railways, while also causing inconvenience to passengers.

The withdrawal order issued on Saturday instructed all principal chief commercial managers to note the change, and directed CRIS to make the necessary adjustments in the reservation system accordingly.

Under the earlier circular from 2013, the waiting list limits stood at 30 and 100 for First AC/Executive Class and 2AC respectively. For First Class, 3AC/Chair Car and Sleeper Class, the caps were 30, 300 and 400, respectively.

“It is good that the Ministry has reviewed the April 17 circular as it was a wrong move and was hurting the interest of Railways as well as passengers. There is a need to enhance the cap on non-AC class as well,” another senior railway official remarked.