For a Traveller’s Comfort: PNR Status Check

Travelling any destination is a big task, no matter you are new to it or you have already explored it several times earlier. Along with a thorough luggage packing, we also make sure that all the travelling arrangements are done properly and the tickets and the bookings are final and confirmed, right? But, in case if one of your booking is not confirmed, at least till the final date of the beginning of your trip, what will you do? Will you cancel your entire trip or you will start your journey with various sources in your hands to timely inform you over the updates and the status of your tickets? Confused? Don’t be! The below page is an effort to present you a detailed information upon one important source and a service that is available in India for the traveller’s convenient travelling in the country all the time, no matter, from which corner or city to which destination.

PNR in India’s Transport System

The travel industries in India have launched a passenger name record (pnr), which is a database record maintained in the CRS (computer reservation system) containing the itinerary for each and every passenger, or the group of passengers travelling with them. Though this concept has been in use for years by the airline industries, the onset of same by the railway department in India, has helped millions of passengers and travellers with an easy exchange of their reservation information. The airline industry (IATA and ATA) has defined the standards for interline messaging of PNR and other data through the “ATA/IATA Reservations Interline Message Procedures – Passenger” i.e. AIRIMP. Every CRS or hosting system has its own proprietary standards and they are designed to map the PNR data easily.

General PNR construction

There are five important parts that altogether complete a PNR detailed form, including:

• The passenger’s name.
• The details for the travel agent or the booking office.
• The ticketing details, i.e., the ticket number and the ticketing time limit.
• Itinerary of the segment under which the passenger is listed.
• Name of the person or the authority that has made the booking.

Recently, the governments have become very strict with the pnr check, especially the bookings done by the airline companies. Here below are mentioned some more details that are nowadays required to be submitted through such details to assist investigators tracing any fraud, criminals or terrorists:

1. Passengers’ gender
2. Passport details – nationality, number, and date of expiry
3. Date and place of birth
4. Redress number, (if previously given to the passenger by the US authorities).
5. All available payment/billing information.

PNR Extension

PNR record is maintained on each and every ticket booking. Once an itinerary is booked by a passenger, be it with a travel agent or upon any travel website,  the computer reservation system that it uses, will automatically generate a PNR number. You can also understand it as a large Global Distribution System like Amadeus Sabre, Galileo or WOrldspan. In case, you make your booking directly with the airline company or the railway department, the generated PNR automatically gets fed into the database of their CRS, which, if is released by the airline company, is called the Master PNR for the passenger and the associated itinerary, which is easy to be located in the particular database with the help of the record locator.

For a convenient travel

Travelling in India has become very convenient and easy nowadays, although, the PNRs were originally introduced for air travel, the transportation systems have incorporated this facility in railways as well, and this is why, both the railways as well as airways make a convenient travelling partner for the travellers in the country. There are a few more advantages of the pnr enquiry modules, let’s learn them one by one:

First, when we travel to a destination, we make sure that we carry all the useful stuff, we pack our bags properly, we keep all the important essentials, we remain extra cautious about our itinerary and the other booking schedules and details like travelling information, date and time, etc. If in case, we lose any of the information, our pnr details can help us find them again.

Second, it is ease to use and operate the pnr details online from the computer as well as mobile. No matter, you are in a hurry, or you are sitting in a corner from where you cannot reach or speak to the concerned travelling authority, the entire travelling status can be easily loaded with the help of the online module checkpnrstatus .

Third, the pnr details can help us make bookings for hotels, airport transfers, car rental and train trips also.

Some tips and suggestions for a convenient travelling in India via Indian Railways pnr services:

1. Book your tickets online: As mentioned above, one of the most surefire and convenient ways of securing a train is to make the booking online. But, make sure that the tickets are secured far in advance because at the online portals, the tickets go on sale 90 days before the train’s departure date.
2. Choose your ticket class: See, on Indian trains, there are five different classes generally, second class, sleeper class, AC Tiers 1-3. All the classes are different from each other on the basis of personal space, temperature and food preparation. Second class tickets being the cheapest among all and the 1st tier being the most expensive one.
3. Your luggage: See, if you are travelling on the Palace on Wheels or a similarly segregated luxury train, then it is not a problem at all, but if not, then consider the security of your luggage as the priority. You can get a lock for your luggage, or keep your important items like money, credit cards, etc., with you.
4. Enjoy your journey: Travelling via trains in India passes through various villages along the way, and the trains also stop at small town railway outposts.

In short, if you are really keen on experiencing and appreciating the real length of a journey, there could be no better deal than travelling via Indian railways.