PNR is something most Indians struggle to remember when they are travelling by the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways is one of the most comprehensive railway systems in the world since it caters to a staggering population of the country with over a billion people. PNR is an important identification number which is to be found at the top left corner of an Indian Railways ticket. PNR is an abbreviation which stands for Passenger Name Record. It represents the travel record of a person or a group of persons in case of group tickets, in the database of the Computer Reservation System.
PNR came into vogue after the railways reservation system was computerized and the need arose for having a unique identification number for each reservation made. It represents the travel records of each person or group of persons. There are five types of data that is usually stored in the PNR – the name of the passenger, the travel agent or website through which the booking was made, the details of the ticket such as ticket number, time limit as well as itinerary of the train against which the booking is made. Also, the name of the person who makes the booking is also stored.
The PNR is part of computerized travel records of all trains and regions which form part of an all encompassing global distribution system or computerized reservation system. Thus, the PNR details form part of a global database system of the Indian Railways. The PNR details are constantly updated, from the time one requests for reservation and is allocated a PNR number, the status of each reservation can be different at different points of time.
PNR status is a value that changes randomly. At the time of reservation, if seats are available in the chosen train, then confirmed seats are provided. If confirmation is not possible, then there are two categories against which the seats are allocated. One category is RAC or Reservation Against Cancellation and WL or waitlisted. The former category indicates that one can be allocated a seat when there is a cancellation and the number against your RAC status will indicate your likelihood of obtaining a seat on the train. WL on the other hand, indicates tickets or PNRs which are waitlisted and such tickets are moved into RAC category when seats open up and if further vacant seats are found, then RAC tickets are confirmed. Thus, based on the number of cancellation of confirmed tickets which happen, the RAC or WL status of PNRs change. Again, when PNR status remains at WL, then a passenger cannot board the train and then has to cancel the ticket and await his or her refund.
PNR status is thus a constant point of query for passengers of Indian Railways. Today, with advancement of technology and comprehensive computerization, the status updates are mostly instant and accurate. One can obtain the updated status information by visiting sites like http://www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_stat.html or sending their PNR number as sms to 5676747. Thus, it is very convenient for one to obtain their PNR status and plan their travel schedules accordingly.
{ 0 comments }