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As per Indian Railways rules, the passenger with the confirmed ticket for side-upper berth is allowed to sit on the side-lower berth only during the day
According to the railway manual, the official sleeping hours are from 10pm to 6am. (Representative image/AP)
RAC, or Reservation Against Cancellation, is a type of ticket that allows you to travel on any Indian Railway train, but doesn’t guarantee a seat. If a passenger with a confirmed ticket doesn’t board or cancels their ticket before the train departs, the RAC ticket holder will be assigned a berth.
But what happens when no such cancellations are there and the RAC ticket holder isn’t assigned a seat? Situations like these often lead to heated arguments and even brawls on trains.
However, there are rules that specify seat arrangements in such cases.
Guidelines For RAC Seats
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity for Indian Railways, explains that RAC tickets are issued to two passengers, who share a single side-lower berth. During the day, both passengers can sit on the lower berth. At night, they must share the berth for sleeping. However, the passenger with the side-upper berth on a confirmed ticket is allowed to sit on the lower berth only during the day.
According to the railway manual, the official sleeping hours are from 10pm to 6am. During this period, the side-upper berth passenger must vacate the side-lower berth and return to their designated seat. If they insist on occupying the side-lower berth, you are entitled to complain to the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE), who will ensure the issue is resolved.
RAC stands for Reservation Against Cancellation. If a confirmed ticket is cancelled, one RAC passenger is allotted the confirmed berth, while the remaining passenger continues to travel on half of the side lower berth. Both passengers must share the seat until their ticket is upgraded to confirmed status.
RAC Seat Allotment
Each coach accommodates between 12 to 14 RAC passengers, depending on the type of coach. This applies to Third AC and Sleeper coaches. The exact number of RAC berths depends on whether the coach is an ICF (smaller) or LHB (larger) model, with 6 to 7 berths typically reserved for RAC in each coach.
