No Alcohol No Drugs - the only addiction is Railfanning, to escape the negativity of the world. - Keshav Singh

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ALL ABOUT POOLED QUOTA (PQ):
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You cannot understand PQ unless you know what is RS and RL quota, so let us first understand RS and RL quotas:
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RS...
more...

= Road Side quota = quota defined from starting station of the train to an intermediate station.
RL = Remote Location quota = quota defined from intermediate station of the train to ending station.
If a RL quota is defined for a train, it automatically creates RS quota as well.
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Q1 : What is Pooled Quota?
- Pooled Quota is quota defined from starting station to ending station of the train.
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Q2: Which passengers are eligible for Pooled Quota?
- Technically, all passengers are eligible for Pooled Quota. It depends on the berth allotment logic configured for the train.
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Q3: Why is PQ created?
- PQ is created to “restrict” certain intermediate station passengers during booking. For each train, it is configured in the system as to which source-destination combinations should go in which all quotas (1 or more) during booking. Some are eligible for multiple quotas like:
-- GN+PQ
-- RS(1 or more)+PQ
-- RL(1 or more)+PQ
-- RS(1 or more)+GN+PQ
-- RL(1 or more)+GN+PQ
-- while some are eligible for “PQ only”. Hence such passengers get “restricted” to only PQ, as they do not get the luxury to get into multiple quotas while booking, unlike others.
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Q4: Does this mean that passengers are allotted berths from multiple quotas during booking?
- Yes, the system is defined that way. Any vacant quota will be used in a pre-defined order for that source-destination ticket.
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Q5: Is it possible that different passengers of the same PNR area alloted from different quotas?
- Yes. If there is only 1 berth in say GN quota available, then the 1st passenger is alloted berth from GN quota, and the remaining passengers are alloted from PQ. But when it comes to maintaining them on Waiting List, all such WL passengers are maintained against the same WL only. It cannot be that 1 of them has RSWL, other has RLWL, someone has PQWL etc.
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Q6: Do we have RAC in PQ?
- NO
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Q7: Is PQ defined in all trains?
- NO
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Q8: Can I / PRS staff select which quota I should come into?
- NO, it is system configured, depending on source-destination of the ticket, for that train.
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Q9: Why is PQ not defined as intermediate station quota?
- If it is intermediate station quota, then actually becomes either RS quota or RL quota, it cannot be PQ. The stations that are configured for “PQ only” range right from starting station to ending station, hence it has to be a start to end quota.
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Q10: Now PQ contains some bookings, which could have also been accomodated in GN/RS/RL quotas. If such a passenger cancels his ticket, will my PQWL improve?
- NO. It happens only when a passenger, who is eligible “only for PQ”, cancels his ticket. If a passenger, who is eligible for other quota, but has been provided a berth from PQ, cancels his ticket, it’s the GN/RS/RL quota WL which improves, and not the PQWL, even if the cancelled berth was from PQ.
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Q11: Can I still somehow avoid PQWL?
- Yes, in some cases, book till a station for which tickets are issued even from GN quota. [like in 2610, book MAQ to TNA instead of MAQ to PNVL, even if you want to get down at Panvel].
- No, in some cases. Despite booking from an earlier station, and putting boarding station as your desired station, the system picks up allotment as per “boarding station” and not as per “ticket starting station”. Nothing can be done here. [like
in 2620, UD to LTT boarding Madgaon, picks up availability of Madgaon, and this comes as PQWL].