Indian Railway has rule those caught without ticket fine double the ticket from station person boarded (max from originating station train) subject to minimum Rs 250. Technical advices at least buy platform ticket to prove boarding station in order to avoid heavy fine.
Travel on waiting list ticket: You can travel with a waitlisted ticket if it is bought from the railway window counter. However, e-ticket (purchased online IRCTC self/through agent) waitlisted passengers are not allowed to board the train. Waitlisted e-ticket are refunded after the preparation of train chart (appx 4 hours before train departure time).
This automatic cancelling waiting e ticket online must be with view that people with waiting not board train sleeper(reserved) compartments and create inconvenience for those with reserved seats to a person with e waiting take advantage TC not with current online updated and thus travel with simultaneous take refund online etc.
A (poor) person travelling in emergency without reservation go for online booking shops and option are try Tatkal, which get small opening window at 10/11 am a day before booking date and get full quickly. The online booking shops for this Tatkal quick snap shot ask Rs 500 extra above ticket amount from poor. The other is then premium Tatkal and Railway ask 3 times the ticket with sleeper ticket touching AC prices and mostly remain available till end.
The post reservation chart printed (appx 4 hours before train depart time), Indian railways have current booking before departure and earlier used to be at railway stations special counters, now also made online (IRCTC site) charts available. This basically involve in most cases where there is waiting, that certain tickets between various stretches of train left vacant due to quota fixed for reservation for various stations.
This current reservation again presents last legitimate opportunity to book smaller segment than your destination quickly and at least board train legally respectfully esp. with coming night and hope extend ticket and find seat ahead journey. Even smarter move could be to book multiple broken segments (though will cost little bit extra as long route tickets cost less in railway) and look for luck get remaining journey seat or intermittent standing next to toilet etc.
Missed on all the legitimate options above, the only last legitimate option left to board train in emergency is buy general ticket from station counter or Wait list ticket from railway booking counter (not available odd hours and rush etc ). Also, with online booking prevalent there is no more trend going for long queues at booking counter at Railway Stations. The no of planned/declared Railway booking counters across the city or at post offices neither advertised by the railways nor mostly functional. The general ticket holder cannot board Sleeper coach (max in no.) as they will be fined and general few coaches full with rush, one can’t even get in.
The poor and TTs found solution for these poor emergency situations esp. for those traveling with families on humanitarian ground. The poor himself approach TT at boarding station, even many standing around ticket counter and ask for penalised ticket with presumed traveling without ticket in sleeper. He pays Rs. 250 plus Sleeper class ticket amount and gets penalised ticket made with indirectly creating legitimacy to board sleeper coach. After this he goes inside the station and board the sleeper class and then start his effort and luck to bribe the inside TTs to get the seat.
All these TTs standing around ticket counters making penalised ticket in advance must be breaking revenue collection records for penalising ticketless or illegitimate traveller and getting awards. Even railway may be paying them incentives from penalty amount collected for penalising those without ticket. Still, they deserve awards as the poor who has to travel in emergency they are doing great service. The author article felt this as gone through all this helping a poor move in emergency (son sick at home) to Bengal. All this even availing legitimate options and help poor need spending hours on Railways (IRCTC) sites.
Railway Can Plugin All this and Make Better Solutions
The key to simplify systems esp. for poor to get him out all these complexities, stop corruption by TTs to exploitation booking agents private/govt is make online data available to TTs and bound them. Making this online reservation data available to TTs travelling on train is not difficult and already the railway has internet facilities on most stations with help of Railtel and even accessible or made accessible from other operator. The updating of TTs data with central rail server while in train if not in real time presently can be made to synchronize on regular intervals.
The simplified system will be based as a person not getting confirmed seat book for waiting ticket. There will be two cases those booking waiting well in advance and hoping for confirmation with cancellation and those approaching at last moment due to emergency. This emergency separation period line can be fixed like 72 hours (presently 24 hours plus in Tatkal) before date of journey.
Those booking in emergency waiting list 72 hours onwards before departure should be given option of opting Tatkal (mentioning additional charges applicable) allotted 24 hours before automatically on first come fist service. The other option can be to opt for lesser route than actual destination with minimum mentioned explicitly by traveller (as done in current) with maximum possible initial segment done by system first come first serve based on availability of total journey.
The traveller can (officially) extend seat reservation online based on availability after updated by TT on checking the traveller occupancy, while in train or through online updated data through TT or shift to general. Even broken segment reservation be permitted initially given as option after minimum initial period mentioned. The system can be even extended in long run to give options opting for various combination broken segments even in multiple trains like connecting flights with initial trains and their minimum segments opted by traveller at time of booking and subsequently sent to traveller through whatsapp/sms etc giving consent as part current reservation. Infact with no charts in future these segmented options for traveller approval in same train to multiple trains will start right post Tatkal.
Those with regular booking in advance and waiting till 72 hours not confirmed but have to travel can be given option to opt for emergency options of 72 hours onwards. This will avoid making duplicate entries and even allotted with seats from both side at times.
Outcome of above System
1. No more snap shots by online booking shops for Tatkal and making money from poor.
2. The complexities of allocating last minute (segment) seats in current reservations not even known most and increased revenue for railways. This will even stop TTs making people (esp. regular ones) travel on these segmented vacant seats due to station quotas without tickets and taking lump sum amounts as bribe.
3. Less chart printing complexities and with proper online data with TTs these charts will go with time.
4. Less tension with people booking railway ticket and wasting time searching for various trains, their openings at various days/hours before departure and their combinations etc.
5. Online data and once TT confirm presence online of a passenger travelling on waiting no refund and this process of automatic cancelling e waiting tickets will go. This option automatic cancel and refund be applicable to be waiting not opting emergency travel 72 hours onwards.
6. No fake penalty tickets with Rs. 250 charged to give ticket on boarding stations and awards to TTs for revenue collection.
7. Full occupancy by railways with people in emergencies travelling through combined connected segments and in long run with data analytics help railways better schedule trains to allocate station quotas.
8. Better waiting stations to methods of transferring luggage etc. will evolve with time. This will esp. benefit to evolved systems where India will go for High Speed Rail with limited stoppages and traveller using combination of segments of existing and High Speed Rail.
9. This will decrease need of Railway staff at booking counters to private agents and even checking staff. The penalties for traveling with irregularities and esp. without ticket can be enhanced.
10. The need for exploitation through premium Tatkal esp. of poor charging exorbitantly sleeper class exploiting their emergencies with better revenue collection will reduce.
11. This will also reduce no. of travellers without reservation travelling in reserved esp. sleeper coaches and troubling those with reservation.
12. This will improve safety of travelling with all passengers coming through online systems and endorsed in online records with verified identification and better traceable etc.
Why Railway Not Moved In This Direction
There could be lack of initiative and vision moving into this direction as there seems no limitation technical or procedural for achieving this complete online data and availability through entire journey of traveller both with railway staff and traveller. The procedures can always be made simple as proposed with reducing load on travellers esp majority poor using railways and moving in emergency. Unless there are vested interest to keep powers and exploitation/corruption going there seem no reason not to take these automated systems to their logical conclusion