Hellorail According to the news of the Railways has taken a very big and beneficial decision for common passengers. Now if you have booked tickets in Sleeper (SL) or Second Seating (2S) class, then you can get a chance to travel in AC class for free. This will be possible when seats remain vacant in class above your booked coach. That is, now the passengers of Sleeper Class can be upgraded to Third AC (3A) in second AC (2A). At the same time, those who tickets for 2S (Second Seating) will also be able to take advantage of free upgrade in AC Chair Car. Earlier, only Sleeper used to get upgrade up to 3AC, but now the option has become even better and comfortable.
This decision has been directed by Sanjay Manocha, Director (Passenger Marketing) of Railway Board, on May 13 by writing a letter to all the zonal railways. This decision will directly benefit the passengers who travel in low fares but sometimes feel the need for a comfortable journey due to long distance or crowd. Now if the high class seat in a train remains vacant, then the passenger will be able to travel in a more comfortable compartment by upgrading on the same ticket without paying any additional money.
There is a condition to get the benefit of this facility – when you are booking tickets, especially on the IRCTC website or mobile app, then definitely select the option of “Auto Upgrade”. If you do not choose this option, your ticket will not be included in the process of upgrading. Remember, the upgrade will happen automatically when the seat is vacant in the high class. If for some reason your ticket is upgraded and you canceled the ticket later, then you will get the refund only according to the class you booked – not according to the upgrade class.
What has changed?
The ticket class was earlier upgraded, now the Sleeper (SL) Third AC (3A) Second AC (2A) was also not 2S (second).
Necessary condition: Choose Auto Upgrade option while booking tickets
When you book tickets from the IRCTC website or app, then choose the option of “Auto Upgrade”.
If you did not choose this option, then you will not get the benefit of free upgrade.
This new feature can prove to be a boon for passengers, especially in congested time, such as festivals, summer holidays or weekends. Earlier the AC coach seats were left vacant as many people could not pay his rent. Now the railway will give the same seats to the passengers who have taken cheap tickets but have chosen Auto UPGRADE option. This will make full use of seats and passengers will get better service without increasing expenses.
