Here is good news for the train travelers as you need not worry to be in the waiting list. IRCTC has introduced a new system to offer flight tickets for wait listed train travelers. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) will offer flight tickets at the cheapest rate so that you can complete the journey at what is being claimed will be a competitive fare.

IRCTC offer flight tickets for wait listed railway tickets:

IRCTC has joined hands with SpiceJet and GoAir to enable wait listed travelers to fly on the same route at a competitive rate. This new facility will be available to AC class railway passengers if the routes are also served by the airlines. Air tickets will be made available to wait listed train passengers at lower rate than the normal charge. This offer would be valid only for those railway tickets which are booked at least three days before the date of travel. In case the ticket is wait-listed, the passenger can cancel the train ticket and get an air ticket for the same day of journey or the day after that only.  The passengers wait-listed for their tickets will be confirmed through notified via e-mail about the offer so that they can decide if they would like to take up the offer if they choose to convert their railway wait listed ticket to a flight ticket at an additional cost.

Flight tickets will be made available to wait listed train passengers at a cheaper rate than the normal charge. The average flight charge form Coimbatore to Chennai  is Rs 4,000, but through the IRCTC facility, it will be less than Rs 2,000, said an IRCTC official who did not want to be named. The charges, which are not fixed and it will be mailed to the passengers as given by the airlines. IRCTC Regional Director V Sriram said the facility was already fully operational in the western region of the country.

Tamil Nadu Passengers have already started these benefits. “A few days back I booked a first class AC train ticket from Coimbatore to Chennai for Rs 2,100. I was in the waiting list. The IRCTC later upgraded my ticket to a flight for just Rs 1,800 and I was reimbursed Rs 300,” said Mohan Sankar, president, Railway Passengers Association, Coimbatore. This initiative will greatly benefit people in all walks of life, he added.

The facility will be available to AC class passengers if the routes are also served by the airlines. IRCTC is claiming that the deal promises up to 40 per cent reduction in prices on the air tickets.