Now, IRCTC will predict your wait-listed tickets will get confirmed or not

The refurbished IRCTC website went live at midnight. Know the top 5 facts about the new site that will help commuters struggling to book train tickets.

 

Latest News : While you may not get confirmed berths each time you book a train ticket, you can find out if your ticket stands a chance of being confirmed thanks to a new predictive service on the IRCTC website, officials said on Monday.

At midnight, the new and refurbished IRCTC website went live; and now, it will let Indian Railways passengers know the probability of confirmation of wait-listed tickets based on a new algorithm developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).

“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.

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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 the past 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.

Nearly 1.3 million tickets are booked on the IRCTC website every day against a reserved accommodation of 1.05 million berths, the officials said.

Know about new feature → IRCTC Waitlist Prediction

Vasco Da Gama-Patna express accident leaves 3 dead: All we know so far

At least three people were dead and nine left injured after thirteen coaches of the Vasco Da Gama-Patna express jumped the rails

Breaking News : The Indian Railways and the common Indian commuter have been hit by another accident after thirteen coaches of the Vasco Da Gama-Patna express jumped the rails near Manikpur railway station in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

At the time of publishing, no comments or details had come from the Ministry of Railways or Railways Minister Piyush Goyal’s twitter handles.

Here’s all we know about the accident so far:

1) At least three people were dead and nine left injured after thirteen coaches of the Vasco Da Gama-Patna express jumped the rails.

2) Confirming the casualties, Chitrakoot SP Pratap Gopendra Singh said a father-son duo from Bettiah district of Bihar died on the spot while the third person died at a hospital.

3) “Of those injured, two were serious and admitted to district hospital, Chitrakoot. Seven with minor injuries are being treated at Manikpur,” Singh said.

4) According to news agency ANI, Indian Railways PRO Anil Saxena said that helpline numbers have been set up and that rescue and relief operations are underway.

5) The Patna-bound Vasco Da Gama Express (12741) derailed at 4:18 am, soon after leaving platform number 2 of the Manikpur railway station in Chitrakoot district, about 250 km from Lucknow, he said.

6) According to ADG (Law and Order), Anand Kumar, prima facie it appears that fractured railway track is the cause of the accident as per local assessment.

Click to Read → Vasco da Gama Patna Express Accident

70% of train tickets booked on Paytm are from Tier-II and III cities

Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Varanasi, and Allahabad come out as 5 top Tier-II, Tier-III markets

 

 

Recent data by Paytm show that more than 70 per cent of all train tickets booked on Paytm over the past year is from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, in a sign of the increasing reach of digital transactions in non-metro regions after demonetisation.

The study was conducted based data from more than two million rail tickets booked on Paytm over the past year. It was found that while the average ticket size in Tier-I cities is Rs 530, in Tier-II cities it is only Rs 350, pointing at semi-urban and rural India’s price sensitivity. Interestingly, 70 per cent of women booked their train tickets more than a week in advance, while the same was applicable for a mere 30 per cent of men.

"In recent months, Paytm has witnessed exponential growth in travel with more than 10 million tickets sold in financial year 2017. Our five biggest Tier-II and Tier-III markets are Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Varanasi, and Allahabad. This year, the company is aiming to be the country’s largest destination for all travel booking needs," the report said. Paytm is the first horizontal e-commerce major to enter into the travel business, a domain that was dominated by vertical players.

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On the right track

• The five biggest Tier-II and Tier-III markets are Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Varanasi, and Allahabad

• The average ticket size in Tier-I cities is Rs 530, while in Tier-II its only Rs 350, pointing at semi-urban and rural India’s price sensitivity

• Seventy per cent of women booked their train tickets more than a week in advance, while the same was applicable for a mere 30 per cent of men

• In recent months, Paytm has witnessed exponential growth in travel with more than 10 million tickets sold in FY17

• The top preferred routes by passengers this summer include New Delhi–Lucknow, Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad, New Delhi–Kanpur, Chennai–Bengaluru, Ahmedabad–Surat and Pune–Solapur.

(read more...)

 

Uber, Ola battle it out for railway passengers: Here's how it will work

After fighting it out on roads, cab aggregators like Uber and Ola are set to come face to face on railway tracks. Both the players are now in race to tie up with the Indian Railways to offer services to train travellers.

With the Suresh Prabhu-led railways ministry toying with the idea to offer space for cab operators at railway stations, both the market leaders have started the battle to garner the railways' market share. Through this initiative, the Railways is likely to add an additional Rs 120 crore to its non-fare revenue. 

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As per the plan, those users who book tickets through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) app will be able to schedule a ride with a cab aggregator on a future date and time. If the Railways moves ahead with the plan, it will have to float a tender for this from the concerned parties.

The other major service providers in the sector are Baxi, Shuttl, Meru and BlaBlaCar. Though the San Francisco-based Uber is aggressively moving ahead in Indian market, Ola still holds a majority share.

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After passenger cover, railways plans baggage insurance

After successfully rolling out insurance for passengers who book tickets online, the Indian Railways is planning to introduce theft insurance. Under the proposed scheme, travellers can get a cover for all their baggage, electronic items and other valuables.

The scheme would cover incidents like robbery and dacoity. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has sought insurance companies' views on the issue.

The existing system doesn't provide any provision for compensation in case of theft during a rail journey. According to the rules, a passenger can approach the train conductor, coach attendants, guards or escorts, in case of a robbery or dacoity. In such cases, railways officials normally help passengers file a first information report (FIR) with the police station concerned. However, the stolen goods are rarely recovered. And to claim normal theft insurance, passengers need a "non-traceable certificate" from police, which takes at least three months.

"IRCTC has asked us to look into theft insurance possibilities and submit our views. Their idea is to provide cover for all items, including laptops, mobile phones and other valuables," said a top executive of a Mumbai-based insurer.

The initiative comes on the back of the passenger insurance scheme introduced by the railways on September 1, which became an instant hit among online ticket buyers. Till now, the scheme has attracted over 6 million buyers with about 330,000 passengers choosing it everyday.

Once IRCTC gets insurers' views on theft cover, it will take up the matter with the railway ministry for clearance. IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director A K Manocha said railways is also considering providing insurance cover to passengers who buy tickets offline or travel without reservation. "We will have to invite fresh tender if the scheme gets extended to  read full story