When is the train chart prepared?

Short answer

The first reservation chart is prepared about 8 hours before the train leaves its origin — for trains departing before 2 pm, by 9 pm the previous evening — under the rule Indian Railways rolled out from 2025; older articles still say 4 hours. It fixes which waitlisted tickets confirm or are cancelled, and it is when unsold quota berths are released. A second, final chart is prepared about 30 minutes before departure with any last cancellations.

What the chart is

The reservation chart is the railway’s final list of who is travelling in each coach and berth. Until it is prepared, bookings and cancellations keep the numbers moving. Once it is prepared, waitlisted tickets are either confirmed or cancelled, RAC passengers are given their seats, and the ticket examiner gets the list to check on board.

When it is prepared

Chart	Timing	What it decides
First chart	About 8 hours before the train leaves its origin. For trains departing before 2:00 pm, by 9:00 pm the previous evening.	Waitlist outcomes; release of unsold quota berths to the general waitlist; coach and berth numbers for CNF and RAC.
Final chart	About 30 minutes before departure.	Last cancellations and current bookings; RAC upgrades from late cancellations.
Remote-location chart	Separately, at the remote station, usually 2–3 hours before the train arrives there.	RLWL outcomes for that station. See what RLWL means.

The 4-hour rule is gone. For years the first chart was made four hours before departure, and most articles online still say so. The Railway Board approved the move to eight hours in June 2025 and it was rolled out across zones from then, so that a waitlisted traveller learns their fate the evening before rather than at dawn. If your PNR shows “Chart Prepared” the previous night, that is why.

What changes once it is prepared

Waitlisted e-tickets that did not clear are cancelled automatically and refunded, minus clerkage. You cannot board with one. See how waitlists clear.
RAC passengers get a coach and seat number; further upgrades happen on the final chart and on board. See RAC explained.
Online cancellation closes. After the chart, a refund needs a TDR, for the reasons the rules allow.
Current booking opens for any berths still free after the first chart — on IRCTC and at counters — until the final chart. A train that showed a waitlist for weeks can briefly show AVAILABLE the night before.
The status is final. Whatever the PNR says after “Chart Prepared” is what you travel on — see PNR status explained.

Boarding at a later station

The chart is prepared on the origin’s departure time, not yours. If you board twelve hours down the line, your fate was decided long before you left home — which is exactly why a boarding-point change made in time matters: it puts you on the chart at the station where you will actually appear.

In YaatriGan the chart time is part of the simulation. A waitlisted option that does not clear is a journey that has to fall back to something else the evening before — and the fallback’s own availability at that hour is what the plan is judged on, not what it showed a week earlier.

Questions people ask

Can I book a ticket after the chart is prepared?

Yes, if berths remain after the first chart. Current booking stays open, on IRCTC and at counters, until the final chart about 30 minutes before departure.

Does the chart prepare at my station or at the origin?

At the origin, on the origin’s departure time. For a remote-location quota (RLWL) a separate chart is prepared at that remote station, usually two to three hours before the train reaches it.

What is “chart not prepared” on a PNR?

It means the first chart is still to come, so waitlisted tickets can still move. Once it says “Chart Prepared”, the status shown is the one you travel on.

Rules quoted here are Indian Railways’ published rules as we understand them on the date above. They change; the official channel’s page at the time you book is what governs. YaatriGan is independent and is not affiliated with Indian Railways or IRCTC.