Many types of tickets are sold within the railway transport, including categories such as Sleeper, Chair Car, 3AC, 2AC, and 1AC. All these tickets are intended for seat reservations. The system responsible for distributing confirmed, RAC, and waiting list tickets for these reservations on trains is called PRS.
PRS stands for Passenger Reservation System. It is important to understand that PRS is used exclusively for booking reserved seats; it does not allow booking all types of tickets. Tickets can only be purchased for trains and carriages where reservation is provided, regardless of whether you receive a confirmed ticket, RAC, or waiting status.
A separate system called UTS (Unreserved Ticket System) exists for purchasing tickets on ordinary passenger trains or in general compartments. Thus, PRS serves only for booking reserved seats.
Every day, people need to book seats in various carriages for journeys to different destinations. Some book berths in 3AC, others in 2AC and 1AC, and some in Sleeper, as well as seating in Chair Car. PRS is responsible for distributing tickets in different carriages and trains for millions of people daily.
The PRS railway system is a computerized digital platform. It is used not only for booking reserved tickets but also for ticket cancellations, checking seat availability, and creating schedules. PRS is even used when making reservations for senior citizens or women under special quotas, ensuring them a confirmed seat. The process of last-minute ticket confirmation via RAC status also occurs through PRS.
PRS, or Public Reservation System, functions based on a very complex and well-organized algorithm. It is thanks to this that the statuses of confirmed tickets, RAC, special quotas for senior citizens and women, as well as various waiting lists, are managed.
The PRS system was developed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS). Thanks to PRS, the daily train journeys of millions of people become easier, allowing them to receive confirmed tickets, while waiting tickets are automatically cancelled. Simply put, the entire process, from buying a ticket at the railway counter to booking a reserved ticket through the IRCTC application, is made possible by the extensive PRS network.
Since 1986, PRS has come a long way, from replacing manual ticket counters to supporting online and mobile booking. PRS is a computerized platform for managing reserved tickets in the Indian Railways network and represents the world's largest passenger booking platform.