If a reserved passenger doesnot turn up at his boarding poin

CA CS CIMA Prakash Somani (Landmark Group) (23502 Points)

05 March 2014  
Read the railway rules first: 

CANCELLATION OF RESERVATION DUE TO LATE ARRIVAL OF PASSENGER :- If a passenger, for whom a berth or seat has been reserved, does not turn up up to 10 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train, the Railway Administration may cancel the accommodation reserved for him and allot it to the passenger on the RAC list/Waiting list accordingly on priority. 

CHANGE OF BOARDING POINT :- If a passenger desires to occupy reserved accommodation from any station enroute, he would be permitted to entrain at any intermediate station he chooses irrespective of the distance from the starting station subject to the following conditions :- 

A specific request must be made in writing at the station from where the ticket is purchased and reservation made atleast 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the starting station. 
The Railway Administration reserves the right to use such accommodation from the originating station up to the station at which the passenger is due to entrain. 
No refund will be permissible for the portion of journey not performed by the passenger. 

If you need more information on the rules, go to the railways website athttps://www.indianrail.gov.in/resrules.ht... 


According to the railway rules, a passenger must board the train only from the boarding station and in addition to this, the passenger must also arrive at the boarding station at least 15-30 minutes before the departure time of the train. Also, you can not board the train even from a station which is before the boarding point station as mentioned on your ticket because the berth that is alloted to you could be alloted to some other passenger whos journey will be over at the station from where your journey begins. Normally, passengers are allowed to come at anytime so long as they come on the platform of their boarding point station before the train departs and in some cases, the TTE even waits till untill the next station for the passenger to show up. But, If the passenger fails to board the train at the boarding point station or even at the next station after that, then the TTE is fully authorized by the railways to allot that passenger's berth or chair to the next RAC passenger in the list. It is unfortunate that this has happened in your case. But, the TTE, in his capacity as a railway officer, has the right to assume that the conernced passenger may have cancelled his reservation after the chart has been displayed or may have decided not to undertake the journey at the last minute; And in doing so, the TTE is dutybound to provide that vacant berth or chair to the next RAC passenger in the list. This rule has been specially framed by the railways with the intention of providing quality service to all its passengers. However, you can still claim 50% of the ticket amount as a refund from the boarding station even after the train has left. If you still feel that this is an unfair practice, you can plead your case before the railway disputes and claims tribunal or even at the consumer forum in your city but I seriously doubt if you will be able to secure a judgement or a ruling in your favour since, in this case, it clearly does not appear to be any lapse on the part of the railways. 

So, from the next time onwards, please be more attentive towards things like this. 

Regards, 
allen

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