Vikalp scheme from Indian railways | Fusion - WeRIndia

As the festival season is coming, it is expected to be a lot of rush with train passengers. Many people go to their home towns or relatives, and this creates a lot of rush with trains. In order to battle this rush in passengers, Indian Railways is set to start a scheme which lets waitlisted passengers booking online get a confirmed berth in the next train which is going in the same route, based on availability.

Passengers would get allotment of berth in a different train within 12 hours from the scheduled departure of the original train. They can opt for this scheme at the time of reservation. By doing so, they will be considered for allotment of berth in the alternate train if their ticket status remains waitlisted even after the final chart is prepared.

However, it is already made clear by Indian Railways that opting for this scheme does in no way confirm berth in the alternate train. It is always dependent on train and berth availability.

This Alternate Train Accommodation scheme is named ‘Vikalp’. It is to be launched from November 1 as a pilot project in Northern Railway. The pilot stays for six months on the Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Jammu sectors.

According to a Railway statement, the feedback received on the scheme would decide if it will be available on other sectors. The scheme will not change the price of tickets in no way. Passengers will receive SMS notification regarding the allotment of berth. They can also check from the enquiry counters or by dialing 139.

The statement added that either all passengers of a PNR or none will get confirmation in the alternate train in same class.

A travel planner is also being launched by the railway to make online interface easier. This can be used by passengers to find out about berths availability in multiple trains.

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