Only These Passengers Get Guaranteed Lower Berth While Booking Train Tickets! (IRCTC Official Reply)

Many a time while booking a train ticket on the IRCTC portal, you do not get the desired seat despite having put in your choice request and there being ample amount of vacant seats reflected.

In a tweet response, Indian Railways have indicated how to get the desired seat, especially if its lower berth, while putting in your request for seat choice.

Here’s what you need to know.

Indian Railways Helps Out on Getting Desired Seat For Travel 

As per reports, a passenger traveling via Indian Railways has taken to the micro-blogging site Twitter to express disappointment in relation to a recent trip they underwent.

They tagged the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, stating that he had recently booked train tickets for three senior citizens, putting the preference for berths as ‘Lower berth’. While making the booking, there were 102 berths available. 

Yet, on booking, the seats booked were middle berth, Upper berth and side lower berth.

The passenger tweeted and asked why the Railways provides them with the preference of seat allotment as they never get allotted the preferred berth.

‘You should repair it,’ the passenger added in the tweet to Vaishnav.

To this, IRCTC responded on Twitter, “Sir, the lower berth/senior citizen quota berth is only 60 years and above, lower berths earmarked for female age of 45 years and above, when she is alone or with two passengers (travelling on one ticket). under the norms). IRCTC further said that if there are more than two senior citizens or one is a senior citizen and the other is not a senior citizen, the system will not consider it.”

Concession for Senior Citizens Suspended

Until before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in India in 2020, Indian Railways gave a certain kind of concession to senior citizens. 

This type of concession in train ticket fees was eligible for females of 58 years and above, and males of 60 years and above.

However, since the deadly pandemic struck, the Indian Railways have stripped away the senior citizen concession from March 2020.

According to the Railways, during the two years, from March 2020 to March 2022, it has generated an additional revenue of more than Rs 1,500 crore from senior citizen travellers.

Check out the full details of the senior citizens concession here.