Meaning of “Regret Waiting List” in Train Reservation Terms.

For many trains it is not unusual to see high numbers for the wait list positions, such as in the 300s. For some trains, this is still reasonable because the trains typically see a lot of cancellation and re-booking activity in the days just before the journey. For some other trains, the high numbers on the wait list indicating that such requests for reservations are still being accepted may simply mean that the zonal railway is planning to run an additional trains as specials to clear the rush later. When the maximum wait list number defined for a train is reached for a particular day’s journey, the reservation system refuses to accept any more requests for that day. In such cases, this is shown as ‘REGRET’ in the reservation status.

The reservation status for a train is shown online in a format such as 24-4-2025 WL 273 / WL 189. This indicates that earlier the position was a wait list of 273, and now the wait list has shrunk to 189; i.e., if you were to try to book a ticket now, you would get a wait list position higher than 189. A notation such as 24-4-2025 REGRET / WL 215 indicates that earlier no reservations were being accepted even on the wait list, and now the wait list position is at 215.

In other simple words, the word REGRET means now the reservation is not available for the reserved seat in that class for that day in the train for which you are searching for the ticket. That’s why you should now find the option of another train. Once REGRET is marked, then in no case a confirmed or waiting ticket can be available for that train. Neither the booking of confirmed or waiting tickets can be done.