Chandigarh / Mumbai : The Railways are changing the way 'Tatkal passengers' travel. Starting November 14, special 'Tatkal coaches' will be disbanded to give way to a Tatkal seats quota in various coaches. The railways have also introduced a two-month non-peak period alongwith the 10 month peak period (Sept 15 to July 15) , and charges for the latter will be much steeper.

The Western Railway's spokesperson in Mumbai told mthe media that special Tatkal coaches in trains, including the prestigius Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express, had been replaced by a fixed number of seat in each coach barring the first class. There will be a Tatkal quota in IInd AC (four seats), IIIrd AC (six seats), AC chair car (six seats) and the sleeper coaches (ten per cent per coach, subject to a cap of 72 seats).

A passenger will now have to pay Rs. 300 as against the current Rs. 200 for the IInd AC peak period charges. The charges will also be Rs. 300 - doubled from the present Rs.150. For AC chair car and sleeper class, the charges have been hiked to Rs. 150 each from the present Rs. 50 in each class suring the peak period.

The non-peak period charges remain Rs. 200 per passenger in IInd AC and IIIrd AC and Rs. 75 per passenger in AC chair car and sleeper classes. The Tatkal facility of reservation will not be available in first-class AC and non-AC.

Passengers under the Tatkal quota will not have to carry an identity card during the journey. This has been deleted on an experimental basis for six months after which it will be reviewed, the sources said.

Though the changes, including the hike in charges, were approved at a meeting of chief commercial managers in New Delhi on August 28 this year, the new provisions will be applicable in trains from November 15, 2004.