Indian Railway - Seat Unreserved

This is a suggestion that I thought I should communicate so that it will be useful to passengers who use Indian Railway (IR).

I have often traveled in train and I very frankly I have never traveled in the allocated berth especially when I travel alone. Why? There is always an elderly lady or gentleman who has been alloted an upper berth and the request is made for a change with the lower berth. I have no problem giving up the lower berth for the elderly.

However I feel we can avoid this situation. How?

Let us say at the time of booking IR does not assign the seat numbers but only mentions that the ticket is confirmed or not. Only at a later date say 1 week or 1 day before the journey (so that it is quite clear who will travel and who will not) the seat allocation is made which possibly can make use of the age to determine who gets the lower berth. That way atleast the elderly will be assured of a lower berth (which they rightfully deserve) and would not have to "ask" a co-passenger for a exchange.

I am not very sure of the feasibility but I feel that this should be given a thought and if implemented would truly help the senior citizens.

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