Indian Railways seat availability is a unique system with certain attributes and criteria for seat reservation. The system is categorized into several sections dedicated to availability of tickets in the railways.

Following are some of the major components that rule the unique system of Indian Railway seat availability:

RAC - Reservation Against Cancellation

RAC refers to a system where the individual gets the ticket but does not actually have a reservation for a berth. With a RAC ticket holders can board the train in a reserved coach but can only get reservation for sitting. The complete berth will be available only when some other reserved ticket is cancelled. If in case there are no cancellations then two tickets holders of RAC share the same berth for sitting throughout the journey.

WL - Wait List

WL is a system availability system that does not give any reserved booking with regards to either sitting accommodation or the complete berth reservation. With a WL ticket the individual cannot board the train. When any reserved ticket is cancelled, the person with RAC ticket gets a reserved conformation and the one with the Wait List gets the ticket for RAC. This states that he or she can board the train and have a reserved sitting accommodation.

RLWL - Remote Location Wait List

RLWL is also known as 'Running Line Waiting List' or 'Road-Side Location Waiting List'. This system is attributed to certain quotas of ticket from specific transitional stations on the route. In such a system the ticket holder can get tickets from an intermediate station to the destination point or between two intermediate stations. The waitlist in this quota gets reserved when there is any ticket cancellation between these intermediate stations.

PQWL - Pooled Quota Wait List

PQWL is a system of seat reservation where the passengers can book tickets from the originating station to any intermediate station or from midway station to the termination station. The reservation quota is shared in a specified region between several small stations existing in the route.

REGRET/WL

When there is shortage of seats, Indian Railways offer RAC to ensure that more number of people can travel. When this number increases and there is no place left for assuring sitting accommodation, a waitlist number is offered to the passenger. When this waitlist number reaches a maximum defined point, the railway reservation system denies offering more reservation in any regards. The reservation status of that specified train in the specified route shows REGRET, stating that mo more booking is permitted.

To know more check Indian Railways Seat Availability http://www.railwayreservation.net/indian-railways-reservation-status-seat-availability.html.