Reservation system gone Mad !

Friends Indians & Countrymen

Be prepared to listen to this amazing story about our beloved Indian railways, and the lengths they are going ensure our well-being !!!

After making plans to go for a winter trip early next year with family and friends, I asked my travel agent to book 4 tickets in AC 2 tire . But even after trying for it on the very first day the booking opened, he could manage only 2 upper and lower berths and 2 side berths !!! I was mad at my agent, thinking it was they who somehow messed things up. But they said that it was not their fault ..... the railways had done something to their computerized reservation system, so that no one will be able to book 4 berths(2 lower & 2 upper) in a single coupe !!!!

Thinking this to be a lame excuse on their part,we went to the Koilaghata reservation office to correct matters by making a fresh reservation. Even after being the first one to be at the counter, we were shocked to see the same insane thing repeated !! The man at the counter , as well a friendly police officer posted there confirmed this madness ! The cop further clarified that this malaise seems to affect only the 2AC coaches, and advised us to go for 3AC . But that was not our solution, as we wished privacy for ourselves and room for our luggage, as well as
the security and comfort level that goes with having a coupe exclusively to ourselves.

Meanwhile one of my friends Aparajita Dhara, wished to help me out, and tried on her own to book the required berth configuration via internet. After trying for half a day and getting logged out several times, she came to the same conclusion that the Indian railways, for some diabolical reason is against granting its highest paying passengers the very basic prerequisite of a stress free and enjoyble journey !!!

Yet another very good friend of mine Amitabh Roy, met with even more serious consequense trying to solve my problem.
Not only did he fail to achieve anything, but in the process, the total cost of the tickets was deducted from him, even after showing failed transaction !!! After a lot of frantic phone calls he came to know, that it has now become a standard phenomena and that he will probably get back his money after a couple of months !!!!!!

Lastly, in one final attempt we went again to to the booking counter , this time just to test our theories and the extent of madness the Indian Railways are capable of, and ordered 6 tickets . All for AC 2 tier. We also ensured that we were the first in line and that was the first day of bookings. And the period was one of the slackest seasons for our estination. But again we were given just 1 set of upper and lower berths in one coupe and the others 2 sets in side berths !!! As we stood there
in dismay, some senior gentlemen, and other passengers, after knowing about the matter, became extremely disturbed, and were at their wits end .

So my friends the question now is, are we going to passively accept this arbitrary, unsympathetic, uncivilized, system that our great Indian railways wish to shove down our throats ?

HAPPY JOURNEY !!!! SUBH YATRA !!!!

Long post indeed, but you failed to mention a few things that would have helped in diagnosing the problem than just blaming IR. No I am not defending IR, if anything IR needs a big overhaul and one of the first things that need to be done is to NOT have a railway minister. Corporatise it.

You need to give the Train(s), From/To stations, and the age of each of the travellers that you booked for.

Agreed. Other than these information, there is no point beating around the bush!

I would say this may not be a blame we should tag to IR. This happens on many a times where renowned merchants/retailers are involved in online transactions. Not going into the technical details, slow internet connection and server related problems may occur and can be responsible. But when the actual settlement takes place, the money is refunded in bank accounts. I have had this problem with Jet Airways (while booking flight ticket), Reliane Mobile (while paying bills) my moneyw as deducted from my bank account but the transaction was marked as a 'Failed one'. But I have received the money within 10 working days - it does not take normally more than that (though it sepends actually when your bank settles with the retailer). This is an issue, yes, but not a big issue at all. Also , in my opinion, IR is not "relly rsponsible" for this.

As far as my booking experience goes failed transactions at IRCTC are credited back within 5-6 working days.

What are YOU going to do with these details ?? Are you going to ensure that i get my desired seats or berths ???????!!!!!?????

It is also a fact that 90% of Indians are corrupted and 90% of Indians are absolutely ok with the fact but that does not make it an acceptable state of affair !!

If the only reason you posted that was to rant about it, please go ahead a bit more.
Just so you know, berth/seat allotment logic in railways is pretty detailed and takes into account the station pair, number of passengers on the ticket, their age and the quota they come under.
The request was so that someone here could analyse and explain or understand why?

We are a family of 4 and have often traveled in AC 2 tier, overnight journeys, and never had any problems getting 2 berths in the same coup. If continuous berths are not available, then side berths are allocated. In case of failed transactions (of which I had some), money got credited into account within 2 days. I case of cancelled transactions, (of which I had many), money got credited within 2-3 weeks.
I think it is one of the best computer systems I have encountered (and I am a Software Engineer). Very well optimized.
Regards,
Not NIB any more.

Not sure why this is relevant. I do not see any reason to be so much pissed off. May be the only reason to post here is to vent your frustration.

Be my guest in that case and go ahead. But this is not the right forum to end corruption.

The actual figures are 91.8 percent and 92.65 percent.

Why are you so agitated? Saugata and Narendra asked you for this relevant information, so that someone can narrow down the reason for the berth problem.
If you think nobody can help you, why did you post your problem at all?
Are you part of the 90%?

Just curious:

Is it like 90% corrupt Indians = 90% Indians accepting corruption? Same set?
Capt poses a serious difference though, of 0.85%!!

@funny_in: Nope, Kasturi is by his/her post's outlook, a part of rest 10%. Question is, if he/she is part of 7.35% (100% - 92.65%).

@Kasturi - If you're looking at this, please take it in the right spirit. I think sending a PM with the PNR's/journey details to experienced Railway forum members like Narendra.d could have been okay (though its your decision and I'm not questioning that) - and the findings, if any, could have given us a platform to discuss. Subh Yatra!

Moreover, there is a thread dedicated to this purpose, which has been viewed thus far by 525,245 persons and 8,411 replies have been posted there!

From me also, Subh Yatra!