Online ticketing facility for railway pass holders
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA
ANSWERED ON 03.02.2025
Online ticketing facility for railway pass holders
Shri Vivek Gupta
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to satate :-
(a) whether it is a fact that railway pass holders do not have the facility to book tickets online through any portal;
(b) the details of money spent by Government per ticket on booking at the counter and online respectively;
(c) whether Government is planning to link Aadhaar to avail railway passes henceforth, if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the details of all sections of Government employees eligible for railway passes along with the number thereof in each case ?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)
(a) to (d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.16 BY SHRI VIVEK GUPTA ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 03.02.2025 REGARDING ONLINE TICKETING FACILITY FOR RAILWAY PASS HOLDERS.
(a) Yes, Sir. At present, railway pass holders do not have the facility to book tickets online through any portal.
(b) With regard to ticket issued through computerised Passenger Reservation System(PRS) counters, the cost is incurred on various inputs such as premises, equipment, their maintenance, manpower cost and other costs such as electricity, furniture, stationery, networking etc., which varies from location to location. As far as cost of issuing e-tickets is concerned, it is incurred on procurement and maintenance of hardware and software, cost of technical manpower, recurring expenditure like rent, electricity charges, internet bandwidth charges, administrative cost, etc. Recently, huge investment has been made on Next Generation e-Ticketing System (NGeT) and large scale augmentation of the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure for catering to increased number of booking demands. As such, it is not feasible to quantify the overall cost incurred on issuing of tickets through PRS counter and through online mode.
(c) At present there is no such proposal.
(d) Gazetted railway officers are given six (6) sets of privilege passes in a year and the non-gazetted railway employees are given one (01) set of privilege pass upto the end of 5th year of railway service and thereafter three (3) sets in a year. Employees of non-railway departments appointed on deputation to posts on Indian Railways and officers & staff of Railway Audit Department are also provided privilege passes at par with the railway employees of equal status.
The number of employees as on 01.04.2025 in Group ‘A’ & ‘B’ was 16360 (Provisional) and in Group ‘C’ & erstwhile Group ‘D’ was 1312449 (Provisional).
Here’s how the online ticket booking process works for different passenger categories—especially railway pass holders—via IRCTC and related platforms:
Contents
1. General Online Booking via IRCTC / RailOne
- RailOne App (by CRIS) now enables booking for both reserved and unreserved tickets, plus features like live train tracking, food orders, refunds, and grievance submission via Rail Madad. It supports single sign-on using existing IRCTC or UTS credentials.
- IRCTC Portal/App remains the primary platform for reserved ticket bookings:
- Supports quotas like General, Senior Citizens, Tatkal, Ladies, etc.
- Railway passes, PTOs, season tickets, or other concession passes are not bookable online via general IRCTC channels.
2. Booking for Pass / PTO Holders (Railway Employees & Officials)
- A 2022 Railway Board circular permits online booking of reserved tickets using Railway Passes and Privilege Ticket Orders (PTOs) issued via HRMS:
- Eligible pass categories can be used for online reservations on IRCTC or PRS platforms, provided the CRIS/IRCTC systems support it.
- Key procedural points:
- Pass or PTO holders must fill out a requisition, and the reservation clerk will endorse the pass with PNR, train number, date, and ticket status.
- Reservations must be cancelled before chart preparation for a fresh reservation.
- Online cancellation is allowed through IRCTC, except when a refund is due—then physical surrender may be required.
3. E-Pass Module for Railway Staff
- The E-Pass facility, developed under HRMS by CRIS, allows railway employees to:
- Apply for passes online without visiting offices.
- Book tickets online using an e-pass, either via IRCTC site or PRS/UTS counters.
- Travel free of cost or pay concessional rates (e.g., PTO charges one-third fare).
Summary Table
| Passenger Type | Online Booking Facility | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| General Passengers | Yes (for reserved/unreserved via RailOne or IRCTC) | RailOne App, IRCTC |
| Pass / PTO Holders (Govt/Employee) | Yes, if pass type supported via HRMS & CRIS | IRCTC (e-Pass), some PRS systems |
| Railway Staff (E-Pass Holders) | Yes, via online e-pass module | IRCTC, PRS/UTS, HRMS portal |
| Concession / Season Pass Holders | No, standard IRCTC doesn’t support concessions | Only at counters |
In Summary
- Regular passengers can book tickets online using the RailOne app or IRCTC platform—for both reserved and unreserved categories.
- Railway employees or officials holding valid passes or PTOs can avail online booking options, provided their pass type is integrated with the HRMS and supported by CRIS/IRCTC.
- The digitized E-Pass module has streamlined pass application and ticket booking for staff, offering greater convenience and reduced paperwork.
Let me know if you need help navigating the pass booking process or understanding eligibility criteria in detail!