Glossary · Booking & quotas

VIKALP — Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme (ATAS)

Opt in at booking and a waitlisted ticket may be moved to a confirmed berth on another train on the same route, at no extra fare.

VIKALP lets a passenger booking a waitlisted ticket tick a box choosing up to seven alternative trains. If the ticket is still waitlisted at charting and one of the alternatives has a spare berth, the passenger is shifted to it, in the same or a higher class, with no extra charge and no refund of any difference. The alternative may depart from or arrive at a nearby station and at a different time.

Once shifted, the passenger is a confirmed passenger of the new train and the original ticket is no longer valid. Opting in costs nothing and is one of the few free ways to improve a waitlist’s odds.

Also written or searched as: ATAS · alternate train · vikalp scheme · vikalp meaning

Act on itHow VIKALP works, step by stepOpen

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Every code on a ticket, in one place

Classes, PNR statuses, the five waitlists, quotas, berth codes and fare line items, each with the tool that acts on it.

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Last reviewed

September 15, 2026

Content update

Auto-updated on Jun 28, 2026

Scope: Definitions follow the published Indian Railways and IRCTC rules. Where a figure appears, it is read from the same engine as the site's calculators.

Rules reviewed