If any rail passengers wish to travel on Vande Bharat Sleeper and Amrit Bharat trains for emergency purposes, the Railway Ministry has established an emergency quota for them. This means they can travel using the emergency quota by purchasing a waiting list ticket.
In January, the Railways issued instructions for Amrit Bharat-II trains and Vande Bharat Sleeper trains, stating that only the ladies’ quota, the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) quota, the senior citizen quota, and the duty pass quota will be available in accordance with existing instructions issued from time to time. No other reservation quotas, including Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC), will be applicable on these trains.
However, this matter has now been reviewed, and it has been decided that emergency quotas may also be established on the above-mentioned trains.
According to a circular issued on Tuesday, February 9, 2026, initially, an emergency quota of 24 berths may be established on Amrit Bharat trains with 7 or more SL class coaches.
Vande Bharat Sleeper (VBS) trains may have different emergency quotas for different classes: The emergency quota for Vande Bharat Sleeper will be fixed at 4 berths in 1A class on weekdays and 6 berths on weekends. In contrast, 2A class will have 20 berths on weekdays and 40 berths on weekends. Furthermore, 3rd class will have 24 berths on weekdays and 42 berths on weekends exclusively for emergency quota purposes.
This emergency quota will be applicable to tickets purchased from February 9.
Also, like other Mail/Express trains, Zonal Railways may review the emergency quota fixed in these trains from time to time based on the demand pattern and availability of accommodation and make appropriate changes wherever required.