Waiting list or RAC? Railways' new service can predict chances of ticket getting confirmed

Waiting List, RAC and anxiuosly waiting for ticket to get confirmed is such an integral part of train journey. Many a times, people come to railway stations with luggage only to find that their ticket is still in Waiting List and they cannot board the train.

But now, thanks to the new algorithm developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), passengers will be able to know the chances of their ticket getting confirmed. The refurbished IRCTC website has now gone live which will let the passengers know the probability of confirmation of wait-listed tickets.

"According to the new feature of wait-list prediction, one can predict the chances of a wait-listed or a RAC ticket getting confirmed on the basis of booking trends. We will mine our own data of passenger operations and booking patterns for the first time," a senior official in the Railway Ministry said, as per PTI.

The idea, the officials said, came from Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who had given a one-year deadline last year to complete the process of inducting the predictive service on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website.

The algorithm will take into account last 13 years' data to arrive at a "robust, workable model", the officials said.

While predictions have been used by private players, the officials said that the Indian Railways system would be more reliable as it would have the advantage of the database of the national transporter.

A user need not even log in to the new website to enquire or search for trains and check on availability of seats, while the older version only allowed access to the registered users.

"While booking tickets, separate cards for each passenger have been provided to fill in their details. Pre-filled particulars will ensure a quick booking experience. The user can manage the payment options by marking six banks as preferred banks under the 'My Profile' section," an official said.

The users can also perform multiple activities like cancellation, printing, request for an SMS, selection of an alternative train by exercising the "Vikalp" option and changing the boarding point, if required.

Nearly 13 lakh tickets are booked on the IRCTC website every day against a reserved accommodation of 10.5 lakh berths, the officials said.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs