What do RAC, WL and CNF mean?

CNF (Confirmed) means you have an actual seat or berth, with a coach and berth number assigned. This is the only status that guarantees you travel exactly as booked.

RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) means you're allotted a shared berth — typically two RAC passengers share one side-lower berth — and you're allowed to board and travel. If a confirmed passenger cancels before the chart is prepared, RAC passengers move up and usually get a full berth to themselves.

WL (Waitlist) means you don't have a berth yet. As CNF and RAC passengers cancel, waitlisted passengers move up the list in order. Whether you end up confirmed depends entirely on how many people ahead of you cancel before the chart is prepared — there's no way to predict it with certainty.

You'll also see waitlist sub-types like GNWL (General), RLWL (Remote Location), PQWL (Pooled Quota) and TQWL (Tatkal Quota). Each is drawn from a different quota, and how fast they clear varies a lot by route — a low RLWL number can confirm faster than a lower-looking GNWL number on a popular train.

A waitlisted e-ticket that's still WL when the chart is prepared is automatically cancelled and the passenger cannot board — this is different from a counter (PRS) ticket, where a WL/RAC ticket is still valid but you can only board if RAC.

You can check exactly where your booking stands, including whether the chart has been prepared yet, on our PNR status page.