Also, the difference in the two numbers (RLWL1/WL1) gives an indication of how much the tickets usually move. This means that till the time you booked, there were no cancellations done. If, while booking, it shows WL5/WL1, it means that 4 cancellations have been done till date on that train for that particular date.

In the Indian Railways booking system, these codes represent different tiers of the waiting list and have very different chances of confirmation. WL 1 (Waitlist 1) is the numerical position in a specific quota, while RLWL (Remote Location Waiting List) refers to the type of quota you are in. Specifically, RLWL is for passengers boarding at intermediate stations (not the origin or terminus). RLWL 1 means you are the very first person in line for a seat that becomes available from that specific remote location quota. In contrast, a simple "WL 1" usually appears alongside a general code like GNWL (General Waitlist). The critical difference is that GNWL has much higher priority; if a passenger cancels their ticket from the starting station, that seat goes to the GNWL pool. RLWL tickets only get confirmed if someone else from your specific intermediate station cancels, or if the "chart preparation" finds unused seats in other quotas. Generally, an RLWL 1 has a lower mathematical chance of turning into a confirmed berth than a GNWL 1, as the pool of potential cancellations is significantly smaller.