RLWL (Remote Location Waiting List)

Travel in India is often planned around holidays, festivals and summer vacations, and travelling by train is one of the most popular modes of travel in the country. However, this concentration of demand often exceeds the railway's capacity, resulting in travellers receiving a waitlisted ticket. 

Among the many types of waitlists that travellers would encounter when booking train tickets is RLWL. Understanding exactly what RLWL means in railway parlance and how it works can help you plan your travel more effectively and avoid the implications of being waitlisted.

The full form of RLWL is Remote Location Waiting List. RLWL applies when tickets are booked from a station other than the train's originating station. To help you understand this concept better, refer to the table below:

The key aspect of how RLWL works is that movement from RLWL to confirmed tickets occurs only when another person with a confirmed ticket - from the same station you want to board to the same station you want to deboard - cancels their ticket. Any other cancellations don’t move RLWL towards confirmation.

Indian Railways allocates quotas to intermediate stations along a train route, so passengers who want to board a train at these stations also have a chance to book tickets. When you book a ticket between two intermediate stations, the system checks seat availability under the relevant quota. If seats are available, your ticket will be confirmed. If the seats are full, your ticket will be placed under RLWL.

If an existing confirmed ticket for the specific route is cancelled, the vacant seat is filled with an RLWL ticket. However, if a ticket booked for the whole route is cancelled, RLWL tickets do not move to fill up the gap. This is why this waitlist moves more slowly towards confirmation than other waitlist types.

RLWL ticket confirmation chances depend on several factors. These include:

• The popularity of a route (demand).

• Number of passengers cancelling from that specific route quota.

• Number of seats allocated to the quota.

There is no fixed number that guarantees confirmation of an RLWL waiting list ticket. A ticket showing RLWL 1 will still need one cancellation from the same quota to get confirmed (which may not happen on a busy route), while a higher RLWL wait list number may move faster towards confirmation on routes where cancellations are common.

RLWL has lower confirmation chances than GNWL because GNWL is linked to the general quota from the train’s starting station and thus has a larger number of seats that it draws upon for cancellations. In contrast, RLWL is linked to a smaller quota, so it depends on a smaller pool of tickets. A smart approach is to never assume that a low-RLWL waitlist ticket will be confirmed. Instead, track waitlist movement regularly and keep a backup travel plan ready, especially for important travel.

You can check the PNR status of your RLWL ticket online using your PNR number. To check your RLWL status on redRail, just follow these steps:

1. Go to the redBus website or redRail app and log in
2. Enter your 10-digit PNR number (shown on the top left corner of your ticket)
3. Tap on the “Check Status” button
4. The current status of your ticket (whether confirmed or RLWL) will be displayed.

Having your train ticket waitlisted under RLWL can ruin your travel plans. Here are some tips to minimise the impact:

• Book your travel as early as possible to avoid RLWL altogether. This is important as RLWL tickets move more slowly than GNWL tickets.
• Track your PNR regularly, especially as the journey date gets closer. This can help you make alternate arrangements if you see the RLWL number not moving fast enough.
• If your journey is for an urgent purpose, such as an exam, medical visit, interview, wedding, or business meeting, do not rely solely on an RLWL ticket.
• Consider booking from nearby stations, as seat availability may be better at those. Alternatively, look for other trains between the same stations that you want to travel between.
• Book your train travel using the Alternate Trip feature of redRail. Selecting this feature makes you eligible for a 3X refund if the ticket is cancelled, which at least ensures you don’t have to feel any financial strain.