You have often seen the status of Reservation Against Cancellation or RAC on a train ticket. This is not the same as a confirmed berth, but still the full fare is charged from the traveller. Have you wondered why?
Let us explore what an RAC ticket means and the official rules that explain why RAC tickets are charged in full.
What are RAC Tickets and What do They Provide?
A RAC ticket provides you with the guarantee of a seat and a right to board the train. But it does not offer you a confirmed berth like the confirmed tickets. Therefore, an RAC ticket can be said to be somewhere between a confirmed ticket and a waitlist ticket.
In Indian Railways, passengers with RAC tickets travelling in Sleeper and AC classes need to share the seats. While both of them can sit on the seat during the day, at night passengers need to share the berth turnwise until one of the passengers get a confirmed berth.
Now, let us understand the 3 official rules that make Indian railways charge for RAC tickets in full.
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Rule of Access
RAC tickets provide the traveller with a right to board the train and have a seat. What it does not guarantee is a confirmed berth. Usually the side lower seat is provided to the passenger with RAC ticket which needs to be shared with another fellow passenger with RAC ticket.
The fare is charged in full because it provides authorised entry and guaranteed seat sharing.
Ticket Status and Cancellation Rules
Indian Railway System considers RAC as a dynamic reservation status within the regular class of tickets such as sleeper or AC, rather than considering at a separate product, therefore it maintains the same pricing as those for a confirmed reservation whether be it AC or Sleeper.
A passenger with RAC ticket can cancel the reservation 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time and yet be charged only ₹60+ GST per passenger, whereas for confirmed births the same rate can go upto 50% if the same is cancelled 4 hours before the train departure time.
Higher Probability of Confirmation
A RAC ticket has a higher probability of being confirmed rather than a same ticket in waitlist. This coupled with the privilege of accessing the train legally and having a seat makes charges for RAC tickets equal to confirmed tickets.
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