Petition seeks reduction in advance ticket booking period

Ahead of the Railway Budget, an online petition seeking reduction of advance ticket booking period from 120 days to 30 days was submitted to Railways today.
The petition, an initiative of Change.Org, has also sought withdrawal of cancellation charges.
Change.Org, a technology platform for social change enabling people to start and support online petitions and campaign on issues that concern them.
According to Change.Org, "About 70,000 people have submitted an online petition through this platform to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu demanding reduction of the advance ticket booking period and withdrawal of exorbitant train reservation cancellation charges."
In 2015, train reservation cancellation charges had been doubled and the advance booking had been increased to 120 days. Railway officials had termed this "a move to curb touts and streamline the railway reservation process."

The petition maintains that if advance booking starts only 30 days in advance, millions of passengers will be benefitted and the rate of cancellation of tickets will drop drastically.
Change.Org appealed to the Railway Minister to factor in people's concerns and address them in the upcoming Railway Budget.