IRCTC New Feature: How to check vacant seat information in Lati train? Do I get a seat automatically when I see a vacant seat online? Do I get a seat automatically when I see a vacant seat online?
Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world, where crores of passengers travel every day. During festivals, holidays and weekends, trains become so crowded that getting a confirmed ticket is no less than a challenge. In such a situation, many passengers start their journey by taking waiting tickets and keep searching for the TTE during the entire journey in case they find a vacant seat.
But now technology has made this problem easier to a great extent. With the help of a special facility of Indian Railways and IRCTC, passengers can check the information about vacant seats even in a moving train on their mobile phones. This makes it easy to find out in which coach and in which class the seat is available.
What is Current Reservation Availability feature?
Current Reservation Availability (CRA) facility of Indian Railways gives passengers the option to check the available seats in trains online. Through this feature, passengers can know how many seats are currently available in a train and in which class the seats are vacant. This facility is especially useful for those passengers whose tickets are waiting or who want to know the availability of seats for Tatkal travel.
Why is this feature of IRCTC special?
The biggest feature of this facility of IRCTC is that passengers can see the availability of seats according to coach and class. Due to this, there is no need to repeatedly go to different compartments and make inquiries or search for TTE.
How to check vacant seat in a moving train?
Step 1: Go to Railway website
First of all go to IRCTC website or any authorized railway seat availability platform. Here the option related to Current Reservation Availability is available. If your ticket is waiting or you want to know the seat status during the journey, then this facility can prove to be very useful for you.
Step 2: Enter train number and date of journey
Now enter the number or name of the train in which you are traveling or about to travel. After this select the date of travel. The system will show data related to seat availability based on the information entered by you.
Step 3: Select boarding and destination station
In the next step enter your boarding station and destination station. After this you will see the option of Current Availability or Current Reservation. After clicking on this option the system will start showing information related to available seats.
Step 4: Check seat availability
On the screen you will see information about which class seats are available and how many seats are vacant. For example, if a seat is available in Sleeper, Third AC or Second AC, then its number will also be shown. This helps passengers get an idea of their chances of getting a seat.
Does seeing a vacant seat mean getting a seat is certain?
It is important to understand one important thing here. Just because a seat appears available in the online system does not mean that the seat will automatically be allotted to your name. As per Railway rules the final allotment of seat comes under the jurisdiction of TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner). If a seat is available in the train, passengers can contact the TTE and request seat allotment.
Situation may change after railway chart is updated
Indian Railways prepares the reservation chart before the commencement of the journey. In many cases the chart is updated even during the journey. Seat availability may change due to ticket cancellation, non-boarding of passengers or other reasons. For this reason, the information visible online keeps getting updated from time to time.
Why is this facility beneficial for passengers?
- Passengers with waitlisted tickets get an idea of seat availability.
- There is less need to search for TTE repeatedly.
- Seat information is available according to coach and class.
- Helps in better planning during travel.
- Transparency increases in railway services.