In order to upgrade the system data, and in a phased manner regulate the reopening of all passenger trains, while simultaneously doing away with Covid-19 special trains, the Railways ministry has announced to shut the Railways Passenger Reservation System (PRS) for six hours everyday, starting from November 14 and continue for the upcoming 7 days.
This means until November 20, users will not be able to access any PRS services, like reservation, current booking, cancellation, enquiry services, and others, for a six hours period.
Continue reading to learn more about this development.
Railways Ministry to Suspend PRS Services for 6 Hours
With the economy on its path of recovery and travel increasing across the country, the ministry of Railways has decided to no longer continue operating Covid-19 special trains, and restore the number, fare and categorisation of regular timetabled trains which are presently operating as Mail/Express Special and Holiday Special due to the pandemic, states HT.
In order to make these necessary changes on the IRCTC website, a lot of data in relation to current passenger booking and old train numbers need to be updated for all Mail/Express trains. To do so, the ministry of Railways has chalked out a series of steps, which would discontinue the Covid-19 train services in a phased manner.
This data will be updated during the night hours, or as the Ministry states, during ‘lean business hours’ in the night, to minimise any impact caused on booking tickets.
“As part of Railways’ efforts to normalize passenger services and revert back in a phased manner to the pre-covid levels of service, the Railways Passenger Reservation System ( PRS) will be shut down for 6:00 hours during the lean business hours of the night for next 7 days,” as per a statement by the Ministry.
What are Lean Business Hours?
To minimise any problem caused during ticket bookings on IRCTC, the Railways ministry has stated that it would conduct the changes data for 6 hours during lean business hours of the night for seven days.
From 11:30 pm to 5:30 am, starting November 14, PRS Services will be rendered inactive to users on the platform for 7 days, until November 20.
“During the period railway personnel will ensure the advance charting for the trains to start during the affected timings. Except for the PRS services, all other enquiry services including 139 services will continue uninterrupted,” added the ministry.