Indian Railways New Rules 2025: Indian Railways will implement new rules from November 2025, including changes in lower berth allocation, reduction of ARP to 60 days, and launch of RailOne app.
Indian Railways is a major means of transport used by millions of people across the country in their daily lives. Thousands of trains run daily, connecting people to every corner of the country. Passenger convenience, transparency and quality are of utmost importance in such a vast system. Keeping this in mind, the Railways has announced several changes to be implemented from 2025. From the ticket booking process to berth allocation, from sleeping hours to advance reservation periods, new rules have been implemented in every aspect. These rules have been designed not only to provide more convenience to the passengers but also to reduce hassles in the booking system.
In particular, a major change in the allocation of lower berths has been made with the aim of addressing the grievances of many passengers. Till now, many passengers used to opt for “lower berth” while booking tickets, but were disappointed when they got upper or middle berths. Now, as per the new rules, senior citizens, pregnant women and women above 45 years of age will be given priority in lower berths. Railway officials say that this change will reduce travel hassles. Apart from this, if a passenger is eligible for lower berth but does not get it at the time of reservation, the TTE will have the authority to allot it to that passenger if any berth becomes vacant during the train journey. This will enable elderly or pregnant people to travel comfortably.
Railways has also launched the “RailOne” app to facilitate the digital implementation of these changes. It acts as a super app for booking of reserved and unreserved tickets. Through this, passengers can not only book tickets but also get various facilities like train timings, seating details, passenger services etc. at one place. This will speed up the booking process and also reduce the need for middlemen. Apart from this, a special option “Book Only If Berth is Available” has been introduced during online booking. Through this, senior citizens and women can cancel the booking if their preferred berth is not available.
Sleeping hours in reserved compartments are now clearly defined. 10 pm to 6 am is considered sleeping time. During this time, each passenger can rest in their assigned berth. However, during the day, rules will be in place to ensure that everyone can sit. For RAC passengers, two persons can occupy the side lower berth during the day, but only one person can use that berth at night. These rules will not only maintain discipline during the journey but will also avoid inconvenience to others.
Another important change has been made in the Advance Reservation Period (ARP). Till now, tickets could be booked 120 days before the date of travel. But now that period has been reduced to 60 days. The aim is to reduce the problem of cancelled tickets and ensure that tickets are available only to those who are close to the date of travel. Many people used to book tickets 120 days in advance and then cancel their travel. Due to this, more passengers were unable to get tickets. The new system will reduce those problems.
Overall, these new changes will make railway travel easier, more transparent and more responsive to the needs of the people. These steps taken by the Railways in the digital era will not only provide a convenient experience to the people but will also increase their trust in government services. Railway officials said that these changes will receive a positive response from the passengers and the railway system will take a step towards complete modernization by 2025.
