It is probably the one experience that unites all of India. All of us, at least once in our lives, has been wait-listed on a much-needed train journey and forced to cancel important plans. Now, the Indian Railways has come up with much-needed respite for wait-listed passengers.
So do not worry if your ticket is unconfirmed. You will find a seat in the clone train that will run within an hour after the scheduled train’s departure accommodating all the passengers on its waiting list.
What’s more, there won’t be any need for last-minute frenzy about seat and berth allotments. The information regarding berths in the clone train will be provided soon after reservation charts for the scheduled train are put up, four hours before its departure.
According to The Hindu, this service will likely kick off from Howrah, Mumbai CST, Chennai, Secunderabad and New Delhi and could run on routes like Delhi-Jammu, Delhi-Bhopal, Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram and Delhi-Lucknow. The services will also be extended to the routes followed by Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains.
To make effective use of the clone trains, the Railways has also decided to do away with the waiting list limit on the identified routes. At present, the waiting list limit is set at 400 for sleeper class, 300 for 3rd AC or chair car, 100 for 2nd AC and 30 for First Class.
The clone train service is seen as a mutually beneficial situation for both passengers and the Railways, as it would generate more revenue from these trains rather than requiring IRCTC to initiate hundreds of refunds for wait-listed passengers.