Expanding its online reach, Railways' Delhi division has come up with a dedicated page on social networking site Facebook where passengers can check out availability of berths, train timings and other related information.
"We have opened a page on Facebook to inform passengers about the status of vacant berths as well as the arrival and departure of trains. The page is linked with the National Train Inquiry Service and constantly updated," said a senior Delhi division official.
Besides the status of berths and train timings, the page will also provide detailed information about arrivals and departures at the exact platform number at New Delhi, Nizamuddin and Old Delhi stations.
Aiming at preventing misuse of available seats by "unscrupulous elements", Railways has asked other zones to resort to such innovative measures and give adequate publicity regarding the facility of booking vacant accommodation available on trains at current ticket counters.
"Our aim is to create further awareness among passengers about this facility as due to lack of adequate awareness, it is being misused by unscrupulous elements for providing confirmed accommodation to passengers at a premium by using the current counter facility, said the official.
Railways has advised passengers travelling on short notice to use the facility of current reservation counters situated at the train originating main stations.
"The vacant reserved seats available on train after preparation of reservation charts can be booked at the current ticket counters of the train originating stations before departure of trains," the official said.
According to Railway rules, a reserved ticket can be booked across the passenger reservation system counters all over the country as well as through the Internet only upto the time of preparation of reservation charts.
After preparation of reservation charts, the berths available, if any, can be booked at the current counter available at major stations.
The reservation charts are normally prepared three to four hours before the schedule departure of the train. In case of trains leaving early morning, the charts are prepared on the previous night.