CNF Probability

CNF refers to Confirmation on the IRCTC website. The CNF Probability is a carefully curated percentage chance of a particular waitlisted train ticket. It tells you whether the ticket will be confirmed before or during chart preparation. The calculation is performed based on historical data and present booking trends for the train and ticket class. 

The introduction of CNF Probability is a milestone in IRCTC train ticket booking as now you have a clear picture of how probable your ticket confirmation is. It makes decision-making and booking tickets both user-friendly and convenient. It also ensures that the passengers don’t have to pay additional fines for ticket cancellation, as they would only book tickets that are more probable to be confirmed. You no longer have to check your ticket status constantly using the PNR number, something many people are usually worried about. 

When you are booking your ticket from reservation counters or the IRCTC portal, there are six major abbreviations that denote your booked ticket status. 

• CNF: CNF stands for Confirmed. This means your ticket booking has been successful and you have been allocated coach and seat numbers. 

• RAC: RAC refers to Reservation Against Cancellation. In this case, even though your ticket booking is successful and you have been ensured a place on the train, you do not have coach or seat numbers. Additionally, if your ticket status remains RAC during chart preparation, you will only be entitled a side lower partially, that you have to share with another passenger with an RAC ticket. 

• WL: WL stands for Waiting List. When the seats are exhausted but there is a chance of confirmation, your ticket will be waitlisted. From the date of booking till the date of the journey, your ticket needs to be at least upgraded to RAC or you will not be allotted any seats on the train. For reservation counter bookings, you are entitled to get on the train, but for online ticket booking via IRCTC, waitlisted tickets get automatically cancelled and you will receive a refund against your booking. 

• GNWL: The General Waiting List is the most common waiting list with the highest CNF Probability. 

• PQWL: The Pooled Quota Waiting List is shared amongst multiple small stations and has a lower CNF probability for your ticket. 

• CAN/MOD: Cancellation or Modification of ticket refers to a state where you have cancelled or modified the booking of one or multiple passengers in a particular PNR.

To check Confirm Probability, follow the aforementioned steps. 

• Login to the website using your IRCTC credentials.

• Choose basic details like source and destination stations, date of journey, and the type of ticket. 

• On clicking search, a list of trains running on that route will be displayed on the screen, along with their starting and reaching times, coach classes, price of tickets, and travel duration. 

• In the number of seats available, check whether there are available tickets.

• If all confirmed tickets have already been booked, the status will show as either RAC or WL. 

• In this situation, you will only be able to see your CNF Probability in percentage. 

• Check the CNF Probability of your waitlisted ticket. 

• A higher CNF Probability percentage means there is a higher chance of your ticket being confirmed, and so on. 

Online ticket booking via IRCTC registration has made train reservations accessible to everyone. But here are a few things one should keep in mind while booking train tickets. 

• Always pre-book your train tickets to avoid last-minute demand and unavailability, as well as a high CNF probability. Multiple trains like Rajdhani, Duronto, and Shatabdi Express also have dynamic pricing, where the ticket price increases based on ticket availability. 

• It is wise to have date flexibility when booking train tickets as it is easier to get CNF Probability on weekdays or days with less rush. 

• You can look for alternate trains running on the same route that has less demand to ensure a higher CNF Probability. 

• Always check your CNF Probability before you book train tickets online and choose the train, coach class, and route with the highest CNF Probability so that you don't have to regret it later. 

There are various factors that affect the CNF Probability in a train. 

• Ticket waiting list number during booking

• Number of days between booking and journey

• Tourist season

• Train route

• Station quotas

• Previous cancellation trends

With digital India, planning trips and booking train tickets have become easy and fast. Having IRCTC login credentials allows one to check CNF Probability, book tickets, cancel or modify tickets, and much more. Furthermore, the CNF Probability feature helps people decide and be aware of the demand and supply of tickets.