PNR STATUS
What is PNR status?
PNR is short name for 'Passenger Name Record'. It is a record in the database of Indian Railways computer reservation system (IR-CRS) against which journey details for a passenger, or a group of passengers are saved.To be specific, when a reserved railway ticket is booked for a train in Indian Railways, all the details of passengers are stored in relational database of centralized reservation system. These details are associated with a unique ten digit number. This reference number is called PNR and it is printed on the ticket.
Passenger's personal information like name, age, gender etc. is saved in the database against this reference number. It includes columns to store booking status and current status of the ticket.
As we know every train has limited number of seats, sometime one may not get a confirmed reserved ticket. Booking status of such waitlist (W/L) ticket changes when there is any availability of reserved seats due to cancellation. This new current reservation status is generally known as PNR status.
Where to find PNR number on ticket?
PNR number is generally printed at the top left corner of the printed tickets (tickets that are taken from railway station booking window). In case of the E – Ticket (tickets that are booked online or through IRCTC website), it is mentioned at top in separate cell.How to check PNR status?
There are many mediums through which PNR status enquiry can be made. Most popular ways are listed below:- PNR status enquiry through online websites
- Current reservation status check using SMS
- Mobile applications
- Railway enquiry counters at railway station
- Final reservation charts
PNR Status Enquiry through Online Websites
This is the most preferred way to enquire your current PNR status as it is easy and reliable. List of some websites that you can use for enquiry:- www.trainspnrstatus.com This unofficial website is doing a great job in helping Indian rail travelers to find their tickets confirmed booking status. Apart from PNR enquiry, one can also check train running status, station code and train coach position.
- www.indianrail.gov.in This is Indian Railways official portal. It is designed and maintained by CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems).
- www.irctc.co.in IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) is the only official partner of Indian Railways that manages online ticket booking. If you have booked your railway ticket through IRCTC website. Just login into IRCTC website and click on 'Booked Ticket History'. Select your E-Ticket and click 'Get PNR Status'.
Current Reservation Status Check Using SMS
Railway has launched SMS service for PNR enquiry to enhance customer satisfaction. Passengers having no access to internet, find it useful and convenient mean. Most popular of them are as follows:- 139 SMS service 139 SMS service was initially launched by IRCTC. In order to get PNR status on mobile through SMS, one need to send following message on 139.
- 5676747 SMS service This SMS service is maintained by railZone.
PNR <your PNR number> For Example: PNR 1023456789
Available on: Aircel, Airtel, BSNL, iDEA, LOOP, MTNL, MTS, Reliance, TATA, Telenor, Vodafone
sms PNR <your PNR number> and send it to 5676747For Example:
PNR 1023456789Mobile Applications
Recently many mobile apps have been developed by unofficial sources for Android, iOS and Windows phones. One such PNR android app can be found and downloaded here. This method is good for frequent rail travelers.Railway Enquiry Counters at Railway Station
Simply ask to railway enquiry counter attendee.Final Reservation Charts
Final reservation chart is generally prepared before two or three hours of train departure time. This chart is pasted on notice board of railway station platforms.Types of Indian Railways Tickets
- E-Ticket E-Ticket or Electronic Ticket is only booked through IRCTC website. One can take print out of booked ticket and show it to the TTE with relevant passenger ID.
- i-Ticket Tickets booked at railway reservation counter are of type i-Ticket. It can also be booked at IRCTC website and usually gets delievered through courier at your doorstep.
Types of Indian Railways Trains & PNR Generation
First Indian Railway train was run in 1853 between Mumbai and Thane. Mumbai and Thane are western coastal districts of Maharashtra. Current Indian Railway trains are the result of gradual development in technology. Today it runs thousands of daily express and local passenger trains. Railway has categorized these trains according to their average speed and number of halts on their route. Below are the list of train types:Metro Trains: These trains are equipped with latest technologies and facilities. It currently runs in few metro cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Such metro trains are in demand and government had planned its expansion in other metro cities as well. Metro Rail tickets do not generate unique PNR number because one can not reserve a seat in these trains. These are moderate in speed and generally runs on their scheduled time.
Suburban Locals: They run only in few big Indian cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. These are also examples of trains for which seat reservation is not possible and hence one can not get pnr status for tickets. These are further divided into slow locals and fast locals. Slow locals halt on every station while the fast ones halt only on main important stations.
Passenger Trains: Passenger trains can also be further classified into slow and fast passenger trains. They run between important small distanced cities.Slow passenger trains have stoppage at every single station in between their route. Reserved tickets are not available and hence unique pnr number generation is not done for tickets.
Express & Super-fast Express: These trains are relatively faster than the above mentioned. They run across long distances and one can book a reserve ticket in these trains. As tickets are reserved, booking system generates unique ten digit pnr number on each tickets to identify the traveler. PNR status checking facility are made available for non reserved train tickets.
Shatabdi and Janshatabdi Express Trains: These are high speed trains available in Indian Railway to connect moderate distanced important stations. They do not have sleeper coaches. They only contain seats for seating. Main difference between Shatabdi and Janshatabdi trains is that Janshatabdi trains have both AC and non AC coaches while Shatabdi trains are fully air-conditioned. Seats can be reserved and pnr status can be checked.
Garib Rath: These trains have AC 3 tier coaches and ticket price is relatively lower than the other air conditioned trains. One can check pnr status of Garib Rath at trainspnrstatus.com
Rajdhani Express: These are fully air conditioned trains and connects major cities of India. They are high priority trains and generally runs on their scheduled time. They have very few stoppage in between their route. Seat reservation facility is available in these trains. One can check Rajdhani Express pnr status on this website.
Duranto Express: These are source to destination train service started recently by Indian Railway. From source to destination means, these trains do not stop on any station that comes in their route
Types of Waitlist Tickets & Their Confirmation Priority
Based on some predefined rules, railway allots different types of waitlist quota on tickets when ticket is not confirmed.GNWL (General Waiting List): Liklihood of confirmation for GNWL ticket is on highest priority. You may get a GNWL quota, if you are starting your journey from a station close to train source station and ending your journey at a station close to train destination station.
CKWL (Tatkal Waiting List): If you are booking your ticket under tatkal quota, you get CKWL status when tickets are unreserved. It is important to note that GNWL tickets will confirm first and then CKWL. Hence there is a very less chance that a CKWL ticket will be confirmed.
Apart from these two popular waiting list quotas, Indian Railways has defined some other W/L quotas in long journey trains like RLWL (Remote Location Waiting List), RQWL (Request Waiting List), PQWL (Pooled Quota Waiting List), RLGN (Remote Location General Waiting List) and RSWL (Roadside Station Waiting List). Confirmation chances for these types of waitlist tickets are very less.
Indian Railways Acronyms and Abbreviations
| Term | Full Form | Category |
|---|---|---|
| PNR | Passenger Name Record | Indian Railways |
| WL | Waiting List | Indian Railways |
| RAC | Reservation Against Cancellation | Indian Railways |
| SL | Sleeper Class | Indian Railways |
| 3A | AC 3 Tier | Indian Railways |
| 3 E | AC 3 Tier Economy | Indian Railways |
| 2S | Second Sitting | Indian Railways |
| FC | First Class | Indian Railways |
| 2A | AC 2-Tier Sleeper | Indian Railways |
| 1A | First Class AC | Indian Railways |
| GN | General Quota | Indian Railways |
| DF | Defence Quota | Indian Railways |
| CK | Tatkal Quota | Indian Railways |
| SS | Travelling Alone Female Quota (above 45 Year) / Senior Citizen Quota | Indian Railways |
| LD | Ladies Quota | Indian Railways |
| HP | Physically Handicapped Quota | Indian Railways |
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