Why is IRCTC Reluctant to Give You Your Preferred Berth?

BENGALURU: Booking a railway ticket in India is an ordeal in itself and no matter however hard you try, there’s a very slim chance that you will get your preferred berth. In spite of all the shortcomings, IRCTC can’t be blamed for this and the very fact that 13 lakh transactions are made every day makes us wonder about the scale and reach of the Indian railways.

But the point still remains that getting your preferred berth or seat on a train is next to impossible and the chances of getting a lower berth is not more than a paltry 10 percent. It’s a common occurrence that in spite of the availability of seats at the time of booking, you don’t get your favorite seat and are left wondering as to why did this happen.

Well, the reason lies in the fact that train is a moving object and the software has an algorithm to distribute the load evenly throughout the train. If it’s not distributed evenly, then it might lead to the derailment of the train. For someone who books the tickets first is generally given middle berth in a middle coach say S5, and preferably lower berth. The reason behind this arrangement is to achieve a low center of gravity. 

Railways just want to ensure a proper balance that each coach should have for equal load distribution. That is why when you book a ticket in last you are always allotted an upper berth and a seat numbered around 2-3 or 70, except you are not taking a seat of someone who has cancelled their seat.

The software books tickets in such a way that there is an equal distribution of load among all the coaches to achieve proper balance. Let’s take a scenario in which S1, S2 and S3 are completely full and S5 and S6 are empty, so when the train takes a turn, some coaches face maximum centrifugal force and some minimum, thus creating an imbalance and a high chance of derailment of the train. Owing to these reasons, the software has been designed in such a way as to achieve maximum balance and even distribution of load. So, next time if you don’t get your preferred berth, don’t be disheartened because it’s for your own good and IRCTC is taking good care of you.

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