Gurugram: Indian rail travellers often struggle to secure confirmed tickets due to delayed planning, with many finalising journeys much closer to the date of travel.
Despite reserved train tickets being available for booking 60 days in advance, MakeMyTrip’s data reveals that nearly 40 per cent of users return to the platform multiple times before completing a booking.
Of these users, around 70 per cent end up with waitlisted tickets, largely because confirmed seats are no longer available by then.
Seat availability varies week by week, influenced by demand fluctuations. In April, high-speed trains typically sold out about 13 days before departure. By May, as demand surged, confirmed tickets were being snapped up over 20 days in advance.
This shifting window makes it hard for passengers to judge how long seats will remain open, complicating timely decision-making even for those who already know which train they want.
To address this challenge, MakeMyTrip has launched Seat Availability Forecast, a new feature that predicts when seats on a specific train are likely to sell out.
Using historical booking patterns and real-time demand indicators, the tool gives users a clearer picture of availability, helping them make informed decisions. The feature is now integrated into the train booking flow on both the MakeMyTrip app and website.
“We are focused on our mission to anticipate and address the nuanced needs of Indian rail passengers,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip. “Seat Availability Forecast is a result of that effort, rooted in data science, built to be seamless, and designed to solve a real planning challenge for millions of users.”
Complementing this, MakeMyTrip has also introduced Sold-out Alerts, a notification feature that informs users when seat availability on their selected train drops below a set threshold.
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