After decades, the Railways has made a major change to reservation tickets and altered the PNR series..

Indian Railways has introduced a major change to train ticketing after decades, marking a historic shift towards modernizing its legacy computerized reservation system. Plans are underway to replace the existing 10-digit Passenger Name Record (PNR) series printed on reservation tickets with a 'Migrated PNR' format. Following this upgrade, the new PNR system will be implemented across all trains nationwide by the third week of December 2026.

Currently, as part of a pilot project, the PNR series for train number 14210—operating from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh—has already been modified; tickets for this train now feature PNRs starting with the '500' series.

**What changes are coming to the PNR series?**
According to information provided by the Railways, starting in December, PNR numbers issued for train bookings across the country will begin with the digits 1, 3, 5, or 7. Previously, the system assigned numbers based on four major database centers: PNRs for trains booked via the Delhi center started with '2', Kolkata with '6', Mumbai with '8', and Chennai with '4'. This decades-old system is now being phased out. In essence, while PNR numbers previously began with even digits, they will now start with odd digits.

**Why is the PNR series being changed?**
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has upgraded the old Passenger Reservation System (PRS) to a 'Next Generation System.' This new system has significantly accelerated the speed of both counter and online ticket booking. It enables instant name corrections during booking and provides immediate access to information such as seat availability, lower berth status, and accurate fare details—all with a single click. Additionally, it has been reported that old series numbers were hindering the operation of this modern software; therefore, the numbers are being migrated.

**Potential inconvenience for passengers who booked tickets earlier**
If a passenger has booked a ticket in advance under the old system and wishes to modify the travel date after the new system is implemented, they will have to cancel their existing ticket and book a new one. This could cause inconvenience to those who have already booked tickets.

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