Officials in the railway ministry are discussing a proposal by RailwayMinister Mamata Banerjee to cut the premium on Tatkal (instant) tickets andreduce its booking period to give the railway budget an aam aadmi touch.

Tatkal berths come at a premium of Rs 75to Rs 300, depending on the nature of the train and demand, and the bookingwindows are open five days before departure.

By reducing the booking time-frame further, the argument runs that people willhave a bigger opportunity to access more non-premium tickets and rid theRailways of the stigma that Tatkal was legalised touting.

Some officials point out that a longer booking window for Tatkal actually makesit more convenient for the passenger to buy tickets and reduces the proclivityto access the black market.

During the last three years of his tenure, Lalu Prasad had more than doubledthe number of Tatkal seats. These additional Tatkal seats were taken out of theberths available under normal reservations, making it harder for passengers tobuy cheaper tickets in advance.

In 2005-06, the daily average number of berths in the Tatkal quota was 43,000.The following year, Prasad increased it to 57,000 and in 2007-08 he raised itto 98,000. Revenue for the Railways from Tatkal almost doubled from Rs 200crore in 2006-07 to Rs 396 crore in 2007-08 and around Rs 500 crore in 2008-09.

Currently, passengers can also book wait-listed tickets under the Tatkal quota.When the final reservation chart is prepared, the Railways distribute thevacant berths between the general quota and the Tatkal in 1:1 ratio.

Since the general waitlist is much bigger than the Tatkal waitlist, the chancesof a Tatkal waitlisted passenger getting a confirmed ticket are higher. Whilethis planning also encourages passengers to buy Tatkal tickets, Banerjee hasnot yet decided to change this ratio.