Indian Railways has implemented a significant policy shift aimed at streamlining the ticketing system and curbing overcrowding: capping wait-listed tickets at 25% of the available berth capacity across all classes. This directive, communicated to all zonal railways, seeks to bring predictability and discipline to the long-standing issue of unregulated waiting lists, which often soared beyond manageable levels, especially during peak travel seasons.

Previously, the waiting list system had no fixed upper limit. During peak seasons like Diwali and Chhath, waitlist numbers could climb to over 300 in Sleeper Class and exceed 150 in AC Chair Car. According to a railway official, this disparity between confirmed bookings and the actual number of passengers boarding trains led to chaos and inconvenience. The new framework calculates the waiting list as 25% of the identified berth count in each coach after accounting for quota allocations for categories like senior citizens, women, foreign tourists, and differently-abled passengers. For example, if 400 berths are available for general booking after quota removal, the waiting list will be capped at 100.

The revised cap applies uniformly across all classes, including sleeper, second AC, third AC, and chair car, and covers Tatkal and remote-location bookings. However, it does not apply to tickets issued on concessional fares or under government warrants. The move addresses numerous passenger complaints about overcrowding caused by excessive wait-listed ticket holders boarding trains without confirmed seats. A previous temporary measure during festive rushes has now been formalized into a permanent policy shift.

Furthermore, Indian Railways has implemented stricter rules for waitlisted tickets starting May 1, 2025. Passengers holding waitlisted tickets, whether booked online or offline, are prohibited from boarding reserved coaches, including Sleeper and AC classes, and are restricted to traveling in general (unreserved) coaches. Ticket examiners (TTEs) are directed to strictly enforce these regulations, with fines imposed on passengers found in reserved coaches with waitlisted tickets, potentially reaching INR 440 for AC Class and INR 250 for Sleeper Class. Violators may also face disembarkation and payment of the fare from the boarding point to the subsequent station.

Refund policies for waitlisted tickets have also been outlined. For online bookings, unconfirmed waitlisted e-tickets are automatically canceled after chart preparation, and a full refund is processed without cancellation charges. For offline bookings, passengers must manually cancel their waitlisted tickets to receive a refund, with a cancellation charge of INR 20 plus GST per passenger if canceled up to four hours before the scheduled departure.

These changes reflect Indian Railways' broader efforts to enhance passenger comfort, optimize capacity utilization, and modernize its operations. The "Ideal Train Profile" initiative, introduced earlier, aims to maximize capacity utilization and revenue generation by analyzing the demand patterns of each train. By allocating accommodation quotas based on the business need of serving demands for different origin-destination pairs, the Railways seeks to improve confirmed seat availability and increase train occupancy.

While these measures may inconvenience some waitlisted travelers, they are expected to significantly improve the travel experience for passengers with confirmed reservations. Passengers holding waitlisted tickets are encouraged to explore alternative trains or travel dates or utilize the Tatkal booking option for last-minute travel plans. The Indian Railways encourages passengers to provide feedback on the new system to help further refine and improve the travel experience, as it continues to innovate and enhance operational efficiency and passenger satisfaction. The implementation of the new cap will be carried out through software modifications by CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems), with the effective date to be announced shortly.