TrainTicket.info

What does your waiting list code mean?

The number is the part everyone reads and the part that matters least. Two tickets at the same position behave completely differently depending on the three or four letters in front of it, because those letters decide which pool of cancellations can reach you.

Exactly as IRCTC shows it, for example GNWL 45/WL 12.

Paste a status above. The prefix is what decides how your ticket behaves — the number on its own tells you much less than people assume.

Every code, ranked by how it behaves

Each has its own page with the mechanism spelled out.

GNWL

Usually clears

General Waiting List

Passengers boarding at the train's originating station, or at a major station close to it.

RLWL

Clears slowly

Remote Location Waiting List

Passengers travelling between two intermediate stations, where an en-route station holds its own small quota.

PQWL

Clears slowly

Pooled Quota Waiting List

Passengers on short intermediate stretches, sharing one pooled quota across several segments of the route.

RSWL

Rarely clears

Roadside Station Waiting List

Passengers boarding at a small roadside station along the route.

TQWL

Rarely clears

Tatkal Quota Waiting List

Passengers who booked under Tatkal and did not get a confirmed berth.

RLGN

Clears slowly

Remote Location General Waiting List

Passengers issued a remote-location ticket where that location's quota is administered as a general list.

RQWL

Clears slowly

Request Waiting List

Passengers whose origin-to-destination pair does not map onto any of the standard quotas, so the request is pooled separately.

RAC

You can board

Reservation Against Cancellation

Passengers just past the confirmed list when the quota ran out.

The comparison people get wrong. A low RLWL or PQWL number feels safer than a high GNWL one, and it usually is not. GNWL draws from every cancellation along the route; the others draw from a small quota attached to one station or one pooled stretch. If a GNWL booking exists for your journey, it is generally the better ticket even at a much higher number.

Waiting list questions

What does GNWL 45/WL 12 mean?

You joined the general waiting list at position 45, and you are at position 12 now. The second number is the live one. The first is only there to show how far the queue has moved since you booked.

Which waiting list has the best chance of confirming?

GNWL, by a wide margin. It is fed by cancellations anywhere along the route, so the pool releasing berths to it is the largest. RLWL, PQWL and RSWL draw on small station-specific or pooled quotas, and TQWL draws only on other Tatkal cancellations.

Why does my TQWL number never move?

Because a confirmed Tatkal ticket carries no refund, so almost nobody cancels one, and Tatkal waiting lists clear only from Tatkal cancellations. A confirmed Tatkal ticket is excellent value; a Tatkal waiting list is the weakest position on the railway.

Is RLWL 5 better than GNWL 40?

Usually not. RLWL only clears when someone cancels within that same remote-location quota, while GNWL clears from cancellations across the whole route. The number is not comparable between the two, and the smaller RLWL number often has the worse outcome.

Is RAC the same as a waiting list?

No, and the difference matters. RAC means you can board. You get half of a side-lower berth, shared with one other RAC passenger, and you are upgraded to a full berth as confirmed passengers cancel. It is a position to accept rather than escape.

Can you tell me my confirmation chances?

Not honestly, and not from the status string alone. Real odds depend on the specific train, date, quota and historical charting behaviour, which needs live data. What the code reliably tells you is how big the pool feeding your position is, and that is what the guidance here is based on.

Waitlisted and thinking of cancelling?

A fully waitlisted e-ticket refunds itself at charting. Cancelling early can cost you clerkage for nothing.

Refund calculator