Indian Railways, which is the primary mode of transport for comfortable and affordable travel, is constantly making significant changes for passenger convenience. It is currently preparing to change an old rule regarding railway ticket booking.
According to reports, the old series of 10-digit PNR numbers displayed on reservation tickets will be replaced by 'migrated PNRs'. This new system may be implemented in December of this year.
These changes to the PNR series in Indian Railways, which will happen after decades, were tested as part of a pilot project on a train running between Dhwapa and Lucknow. In this project, a ticket with a PNR from train series number 14210 now has PNR 500.
The details of the changes coming into effect in December are that after the rules change, all trains will start having PNRs beginning with odd numbers, such as 1, 3, 5, or 7. Previously, the first three digits of the PNR indicated specific databases: for example, PNR2 for Delhi and PNR8 for Mumbai, which meant starting with even numbers.
The necessity for this transformation is due to the modernization of the existing reservation system carried out by the Railway Information Centre. Although this update has simplified processes such as ticket modification and seat selection, the old PNR number series became an obstacle to this modernization, so they are subject to replacement.
According to the report, 1230 trains across the country were selected for the PNR migration pilot project. The change in PNR numbers across all trains is expected to begin in the third week of December this year.
It is important to note that the new rules may only create difficulties for passengers who purchased a ticket under the old system and plan to change their travel date. In such a case, they will need to cancel the existing ticket and purchase a new one according to the new system.