In the travel industry, PNR or passenger record system is a record in the database of a computer reservation system that contains the travelling details of the passenger. In a way, PNR stands for Passenger Name record. The airline industry is credited with the evolution of PNR to facilitate reservation information in case the travelers needed multiple flights of multiple airlines to reach their desired destination.
This is the most convenient and easiest way to track the information of each and every passenger travelling through a particular flight. The status of PNR is fixed during the course of the journey. As this idea bore fruits in the aviation industry, Indian railways followed it. Now the Indian railways have incorporated a ten digit identification number on all its tickets. This facilitates the checking of the reservation status and is assigned to each and every ticket, which is purchased through the IRCTC counter. One can find this number on the top left hand corner of their railway ticket.
What PNR provides?
A unique identification number is provided on each and every ticket whether it is confirmed or not. It states the details of the train, age, gender, and the current status of the train (whether confirmed or waiting list).
How to check PNR status?
- Check PNR status online –
This is the most convenient method among all. All you need to do is to enter the 10 digit number and click on the “Get PNR status”. On doing so, your current reservation status will appear in front of your screen. In fact, passengers from several railway zones in the country can check the status of their ticket with this efficient user interface.
- SMS –
Most of us have taken note of this fact that SMS has emerged out to be a safe and reliable form of communication. In fact, instead of calling the modern day individual prefers SMS. Taking a clue of the popularity of these mediums, Indian Railways has incorporated the facility to check PNR Status by SMS. For a matter of fact, it is the simplest and quickest way to check your reservation status. Sounds great isn’t?
The format is as follows;
Type PNR (space) your ten digits PNR number and send it to 139
- Phone call –
To enquire the current status of your reservation, you need to dial 139 from your phone and follow the instructions which are provided by the IVR.
So what is the utility of the PNR status Indian railways? If you are a regular commuter by train at any point, you are most likely to encounter a waiting list ticket. In that case, you need to find out whether your ticket is confirmed before you embark on your journey. In case, if you have lost your ticket, you can get a duplicate ticket issued with the help of PNR. So, whenever your purchase a ticket, note down the PNR number as this can come in handy at any point of time!