CAN A WL PASSENGER OF A PARTIALLY CONFIRMED E-TKT BOARD THE RESERVED COACH ALONG WITH THOSE TKTS ARE CONFIRMED ?
This is a question which has been debated several times in this forum but remains unresolved till date. It is an issue which has generated more HEAT than LIGHT..
Now here are details of an incident which sheds some light on the matter. One of our IRI members was travelling by 12305 RaJdhani Exp from HWH to Kanpur on 27th January. Out of 4 passengers whose names figured in an originally WL e-ticket,...
more... 3 were confirmed at the time of charting while one remained in WL. However, all 4 of them boarded the 1AC cabin. The sole other occupant who was a stranger to them apparently did not object to the presence of the 5th passenger.
However the TTE was LIVID & FURIOUS and did not consent to this INFORMAL or UNOFFICIAL arrangement. He threatened to treat the WL pax as travelling WITHOUT TICKET and impose penalties besides detraining him at the next stop. He would not accept any of the arguments which have been eloquently put forward by many learned members in this forum. As a senior TTE on board one of India's MOST PRESTIGIOUS TRAINS and that too IN THE HIGHEST CLASS OF TRAVEL, it may safely be PRESUMED that the TTE was conversant not only with the ABC but also with the XYZ of the railway rules. After all he could not afford to goof up as most passengers of this train particularly in 1AC were likely to be HIGH PROFILE and ULTRA SENSITIVE. His interpretation of the IR regulations was CRYSTAL CLEAR. A WL passenger whose name featured in a PARTIALLY CONFIRMED/FULLY UNCONFIRMED ticket, whether PRS or E-TICKET was not WELCOME ON BOARD THE RESERVED COACH.
The TTE finally relented when the IRI member produced another ticket for the same set of 4 persons in 2AC, all of which were in RAC category. He also advised the member about the procedure for cancellation by filing of TDR and also arranged for issuance of a certificate of non-travel in 2AC by the 3 passengers whose tickets were confirmed in 1AC.