Railway Update: TTEs Will No Longer Wait for Passengers at Next Station; Major Boarding Changes Planned

Lucknow, UP: The Indian Railways is preparing to implement significant changes in passenger boarding procedures. Under the new system, Train Ticket Examiners (TTEs) will no longer wait for passengers at the next station if they are not found in their booked seats. Instead, such seats will be immediately marked vacant and made available to waitlisted or RAC passengers.

Officials from the Lucknow Division explained that currently, if a passenger does not occupy their reserved seat after the train departs, TTEs often wait until the next station before updating the seat status. This is because some passengers board at nearby stations after booking their tickets for an earlier station. The upcoming changes will eliminate this delay.

Software to be updated for instant seat allocation
The Railway Board has instructed the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to update its software to support this system. Once implemented, seats vacated after departure from the boarding station will be instantly reassigned to waitlisted or RAC passengers, ensuring better seat utilization and convenience for passengers.

Passenger convenience and efficiency
Nearly three to five percent of seats on most trains go unoccupied due to cancellations or passengers boarding at alternate stations. Under the new system, passengers boarding from different stations will be considered only from their actual boarding station, with the option to update boarding available up to 24 hours before the chart is prepared. After that, changes will no longer be allowed.

Special ticket-checking drive in Lucknow Division
On Wednesday, a major ticket-checking operation was conducted across the Lucknow Division, covering trains including the Prayagraj-Ayodhya MEMU, Varanasi-Lucknow Shuttle Express, and Begampura Express. During the operation, 253 passengers traveling without valid tickets were caught. The drive involved 24 TTEs, 32 RPF personnel, and 5 GRP staff. Senior DCM Kuldeep Tiwari reported that fines totaling ₹1,03,755 were collected, and 83 passengers were handed over to the RPF for legal action.