Railways launches online booking of retiring rooms

New Delhi: Continuing with its efforts to extend more facilities to passengers, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched an online booking facility for retiring rooms at railway stations. “Any passenger with the PNR of a confirmed or RAC ticket may make an online booking of a retiring room. The ticket may either be a counter ticket or e-ticket. The booking can be made for all the passengers on the ticket,” said a senior IRCTC official.[caption id=“attachment_1346041” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  New facility for commuters. Reuters[/caption] Currently, the system is being launched only for the retiring rooms at Mumbai’s CST station. The facility will gradually be extended to major stations, like Delhi and Kolkata, and important tourist destinations. The online booking facility has been launched for both the IRCTC’s tourism website ( www.railtourismindia.com) and e-ticketing website ( www.irctc.co.in). No registration or login-ID is required to avail of the facility. People will be able to do online bookings throughout the day, except for one hour from 11.30 pm to 12.30 am. “One can book a retiring room both at the originating and the destination station and the payment can be made through credit/debit card or net-banking. The system will generate an electronic reservation slip as a confirmation of booking,” the official said. Retiring rooms of single/double-bedded accommodation or even a bed in a dormitory may be booked through the online facility. The bookings are available for a minimum period of 12 hours and a maximum of 48 hours. PTI