New Delhi. Indian Railways has once again changed the rules of advance ticket booking. Earlier, booking of tickets used to start 120 days before the journey, now it has been reduced to 60 days. The new decision will come into effect from November 1, 2024. Railway Ministry has said – The new rules for advance train ticket booking will not have any impact on already booked tickets. Railways has also not made any changes in the rules of 365 days advance booking for foreign tourists.
It is noteworthy that till April 1, 2015, the time for advance booking was only 60 days. That means passengers could book tickets two months in advance. But the government increased it to four months in 2015. The logic behind booking four months in advance was that extending the period would frustrate brokers as they would have to pay higher cancellation charges. However, on the other hand, it was also argued that by booking four months in advance, Railways will get additional 60 days of interest and also it will get additional revenue due to higher number of cancellations.