Emergency Quota in trains: Indian Railways revises rules, advance request now mandatory for all

With an aim to streamline operations and reduce last-minute disruptions, Indian Railways has reportedly introduced a revised guideline for Emergency Quota (EQ) seat allotments.

According to a recent circular issued by the Ministry of Railway, passengers must now submit EQ requests a day prior to their scheduled journey, reported ET Online.

The new guidelines aim to optimise the handling of urgent seat bookings across the network. The EQ provision facilitates urgent travel for specific passenger categories and has long been a part of the Indian Railways system.

“Emergency quota request for all the trains leaving between 0000 hours and 1400 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1200 hours on the previous day of journey,” the circular stated.

“Emergency quota request for all the remaining trains leaving between 14.01 hours and 23.59 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1600 hours on the previous day of journey,” it added.

As per the guidelines, the requests received on the same day as the train’s departure will strictly not be accepted, regardless of the travel reasons. This rule is applicable to all the trains and classes throughout the nation.

A limited number of berths have been earmarked as Emergency Quota in different trains and in different classes to meet the urgent travel requirements of High Official Requisition (HOR) holders who are on the waiting list.

At the time of berth or seat allotment, the emergency quota is first allocated for self-travel of high-ranking officials or Members of Parliament, etc., strictly in accordance with their inter-se seniority in the warrant of precedence.

If requests from other departments are also considered, the remaining quota is allotted based on various factors such as the purpose of travel, including government duty, family bereavement, medical emergencies, job interviews, and the status of the passenger.

According to the report, requests for trains scheduled to depart on Sundays or public holidays must be made a day prior to the departure.

“The requests for releasing accommodation in trains, where the emergency quota is to be allotted on Sundays or public holidays following Sundays, should be submitted during office hours on the preceding working day,” ET Online quoted the circular as saying.