As soon as summer vacations start, every house starts making plans to travel or go to the village. Some are running away to their grandmother’s house with their children, while others are searching for moments of peace in the cool valleys of the mountains. But the biggest problem in this whole plan is getting a confirmed train ticket. When ‘Waiting’ is written on the screen at the time of booking, the fun of a pleasant journey gets spoiled. Only one question keeps roaming in the mind, ‘Will the ticket be confirmed or will we have to spend the holidays at home?’ Confirmation of waiting ticket in Indian Railways is not just a game of luck, rather a complete automatic system works behind it. If you understand this system and the ‘code word’ printed on the ticket, then half of your tension will go away. First of all, understand these 3 secret codes of waiting list. When you book a waiting ticket, there are three different types of codes written on it. These codes decide how likely your seat is to be confirmed: GNWL (General Waiting List): This is considered to be the most common and best waiting list. You get this code when you book tickets from the originating station of the train or from major stations nearby. The chances of it getting confirmed are highest because Railways clears this list first while making the chart. RLWL (Remote Location Waiting List): This code is given when you take a ticket for a major intermediate station falling between the starting and ending station of the train. Railways has a separate and small quota for these stations. In this, the chances of the seat becoming vacant are slightly less, hence the chances of its getting confirmed are considered medium. PQWL (Pooled Quota Waiting List): This is available when you book a ticket between two small stations that fall in the middle of the train’s route. There are very limited seats for this quota in the entire train. Therefore, the chances of its confirmation are the lowest. After all, how does a waiting train ticket get confirmed? Railways has a simple rule that when a passenger cancels his confirmed seat, only then the next person in the waiting list will get that seat. But apart from this, 3 big factors work behind the scenes: Trend of Cancellation: During summer, people often book tickets in 2 to 3 different trains as backup. As the date of travel approaches, people make their final plans and start canceling the remaining redundant tickets. Most cancellations occur 24 hours before the train chart is prepared, due to which the waiting list goes down very rapidly. Unused Quota: Railways have special quotas reserved for VIPs, senior citizens, women and disabled people. If the seats in these special quotas are not completely filled a few hours before the departure of the train, the railway system immediately transfers the remaining seats to general passengers on the General Waiting List (GNWL). Time of preparation of reservation chart: The first reservation chart is prepared just 4 to 5 hours before the departure of the train. At this time, most passengers’ seats are confirmed. If even after this your seat is still waiting, then just 30 minutes before the departure of the train, the second and last chart is prepared, in which the remaining vacant seats are distributed. Safe Zone vs. Risk Zone: How Long to Expect? Whether the ticket is of sleeper class or AC, it completely changes the scope of confirmation. According to the trend of normal days, understand how safe your situation is: Class (Class) Safe Zone (full expectation of getting confirmed) Risk Zone (difficult to get confirmed) AC Class (3AC, 2AC) Waiting number should be between 1 to 20 When waiting number is above 40 Sleeper Class (Sleeper) Waiting number should be between 1 to 50 When the waiting number is above 100 (God Trust) Meditation Note: This rule may change during festivals and summer holidays (Peak Season), because during this period very few people cancel confirmed tickets. 3 magical tricks to confirm waitlisted tickets If your waiting list is long, then next time you book a ticket, use these 3 amazing settings of the IRCTC app: 1. Select ‘VIKALP’ scheme: Do not forget to tick the ‘VIKALP’ option while booking the ticket. Its advantage is that if the waiting list is not cleared in your chosen train, then the Railways gives you a vacant seat in another alternative train going on the same route. No extra fare is charged from you for this. 2. Auto-Upgradation: Always check the box ‘Consider for Auto-Upgradation’ at the time of booking. Many times it happens that AC class seats remain vacant, in such a situation, passengers waiting in sleeper class get a confirmed seat directly in third AC (3AC) or second AC without paying any extra money. 3. Benefit of Current Booking: After the first chart of the train is prepared, the ‘Current Booking’ window opens on the IRCTC app. If any seat is left vacant in the train, it is available directly in Current Booking at a very cheap price, which you can book till a few minutes before the train opens. On the go: Know RAC and Tatkal Waiting also RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation): If your ticket has improved from waiting to RAC, then understand that you can travel in the train, your ticket will not be cancelled. However, in this you do not get the entire berth to sleep, rather two passengers have to travel sitting on a lower berth. If any seat becomes vacant en route, the TTE converts it into a full berth. Tatkal Waiting List (TQWL): Taking waiting ticket in Tatkal quota is considered to be the biggest loss. Tatkal waiting list gets cleared with great difficulty, as the Railways system gives priority to the General Waiting List (GNWL) first. Therefore, always plan your journey only after getting a confirmed ticket.