Indian Railways adds 30 lakh extra berths for festive season:Focus on high-demand routes; passengers will not see ‘regret’ status while booking tickets

Indian Railways has increased about 30 lakh berths for festive season coming ahead. Passengers will now not see the ‘Regret’ (booking closed) status in coaches while booking tickets. Considering the increasing demand for tickets, Northern Railway has started the process of adding coaches to those trains where there is a possibility of getting ‘Regret’ status. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, informed that a pilot project is underway regarding the ‘Regret’ status. It is currently receiving a good response. There are some issues in ticket booking at certain places, which are being worked on. 3000 additional coaches have been added to trains, and this number can be further increased considering the rush of passengers. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, spokesperson for Northern Railway, informed that special trains are running for various cities in Purvanchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh during the festivals. As special trains are announced, their schedules are also being released. Not more than 150 waiting in normal circumstances In normal circumstances, more than 150 waiting tickets are not issued, and booking is closed. During the festive season, by making the rules in the booking system flexible, the process of removing the ‘regret’ status by increasing the number of additional coaches in trains has been started. In trains where the demand for tickets is very high, the process of removing the ‘regret’ status by increasing coaches has begun. This will give more passengers the opportunity to book tickets. Those stuck in the waiting list will also get relief. Now you can change the travel date on a confirmed rail ticket Now you will be able to change the travel date on your confirmed rail ticket, and for this, you will not have to pay any cancellation fee or extra charge. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave this information to NDTV on October 7. He informed that from January 2026, passengers will be able to change confirmed tickets to a future date. However, changing the date in this process will not guarantee a confirmed ticket. It will only be available based on seat availability. Understand the new system for changing ticket dates with this example… If you have a confirmed ticket to travel from Delhi to Patna on November 20 and for some reason, your plan changed and moved forward by 5 days, then you will not need to buy a new ticket for November 25. You will be able to change the travel date online on your confirmed rail ticket of November 20 and travel to Patna on November 25 with the same ticket. The special thing is that your money will not be deducted for this process. Understand the new rules for changing ticket dates in 6 QA… Question- 1: What is the current rule? Answer: In the current railway ticket booking system, to change the date of travel, you first have to cancel your ticket and then book a new ticket for the next date. This also involves a ticket cancellation fee. Along with this, there is no guarantee whether a confirmed ticket will be available for the next date. This causes inconvenience to passengers. Question- 2: When will the new system be active? Answer: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that this system is in the interest of passengers and this feature will be available on the IRCTC website or app from January 2026.
Question- 3: How can the date of a confirmed ticket be changed? Question- 4: Can the date be changed from the ticket counter as well? Answer: Currently, all this will be done online with the help of the IRCTC website or app. No information has been given about an offline option yet. Railways may start this process offline later. Question- 5: Will the facility to change the date be available for waiting tickets as well? Answer: Railways’ new system will currently apply only to confirmed tickets. No new rule has come yet for changing the date of waiting tickets. Question- 6: Will a confirmed ticket be issued in exchange for a confirmed ticket? There will be no guarantee of getting a confirmed ticket in exchange for a confirmed one; tickets will be issued based on seat availability. Additionally, if there is a difference in fare, the passenger will have to pay it.