CHENNAI: To enhance seat utilisation on Vande Bharat Express trains, Southern Railway has introduced a current reservation facility, allowing passengers to book tickets from stations en route up to 15 minutes before the train’s scheduled departure from those stations. The new system came into effect on Thursday in eight VB express trains operated by the zonal railway, according to an official statement.
Under this arrangement, tickets for eight Vande Bharat Express trains can be booked even after the train has departed from its originating station. At present, online bookings are not permitted once the train departs. For instance, passengers travelling from Tiruchy to Nagercoil on the Chennai Egmore–Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express could previously book tickets only before the second chart preparation. Since the train departs Chennai Egmore at 5am, bookings were allowed only up to 4.45am.
Under the revised system, any vacant seats remaining after the train departs Chennai Egmore will be made available in the online booking system for stations en route. As the train reaches Tiruchy at 9 am, passengers boarding from there can now book tickets online up to 8.45 am, subject to seat availability, an official said.
The facility will be available for the following trains: Chennai Central–Vijayawada VB Express, Chennai Egmore–Nagercoil VB Express (both directions), Coimbatore–Bengaluru Cantonment VB express, Mangaluru Central–Thiruvananthapuram VB Express (both directions), Mangaluru Central–Madgaon VB express and Madurai–Bengaluru Cantonment VB express.
With this system, vacant seats will be available for current booking at intermediate stations, the statement said.