A PNR is created for every reserved booking and printed at the top of the ticket. One PNR covers up to six passengers booked together, and everything about the booking is looked up against it: the train, date, class, boarding station, each passenger’s status and, after charting, their coach and berth.
A PNR status page shows two columns: the booking status, which is what you were given at the moment of booking and never changes, and the current status, which moves as cancellations come in and is what matters. The first digit of the PNR indicates the zone that issued it.
Also written or searched as: PNR number · PNR status · passenger name record