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The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) presented its report in Parliament on “Punctuality and Travel Time in Train Operations in Indian Railways,” which included concerns over Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) bookings and its key recommendations for improving passenger fairness.

The committee noted that even after the chart is prepared, if a passenger remains in RAC and does not get a full berth, such as only a side lower/upper berth or a shared berth, they have to pay the full fare. Charging the full fare in such cases is deemed unfair, and the PAC recommended that the Railway Ministry implement a system for partial fare refunds.

In other words, even if a passenger pays the full fare at the time of boarding, they should be eligible for a partial refund if a full berth is not allotted.

RAC is a ticket status in Indian Railways that lies between confirmed and waitlisted. The system provides travel assurance through a shared seat or berth, which allows two passengers to use one berth space. A full private berth becomes available when a confirmed passenger cancels their reservation, after which the RAC ticket holder receives the upgrade.

If implemented, the PAC recommendation will likely increase transparency because it will establish fairer processes for RAC bookings. The system will charge passengers according to the facilities they actually receive.