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As soon as a sudden travel plan is made by Indian Railways, the biggest challenge faced by the common passenger is to get a confirmed seat. Be it a festive season, a sudden auspicious event in the family or an urgent need to travel – ‘Tatkal Quota’ becomes the first and last resort of lakhs of passengers. As soon as the window opens on the IRCTC website or mobile app, hundreds of tickets are booked within a few seconds and if there is even a slight mistake, the seat goes on the waiting list. In such a time, if the passenger does not have clear information about the exact time of booking, limit of maximum passengers, fast payment options and complex rules of refund on cancellation, then not only the seat is lost but also has to suffer financial loss. Let us understand the answers to those 9 most important questions related to Tatkal ticket booking, which are very important for every railway passenger to know.
As per Indian Railways rules, Tatkal tickets are booked exactly one day before the date of journey. The point to be noted here is that one day is counted from the day of departure of the train from the originating station. Booking timings have been fixed separately for AC and non-AC categories. Tatkal booking for AC classes (2A, 3A, CC, 3E, 1A) starts at 10:00 AM sharp. Whereas for non-AC class i.e. Sleeper Class (SL) and Second Sitting (2S), the Tatkal booking window opens at exactly 11:00 am. If the train runs from the originating station on Tuesday and you have to board from an intermediate station on Wednesday, the Tatkal quota will open only on Monday.
In normal ticket booking, names of maximum 6 passengers can be entered on one PNR, but in Tatkal quota this rule changes completely. Indian Railways has fixed a maximum limit of 4 passengers on a Tatkal ticket (PNR) with the aim of preventing black marketing of tickets and giving more opportunities to the common passengers. If your group has 5 or more members, you will have to book with two different PNRs. Apart from this, any kind of fare concession given to senior citizens or disabled people is not applicable in Tatkal tickets.
It is no longer mandatory to enter any identity card number into the software while booking, but it is legally mandatory to carry the original identity card during the journey. When you are traveling in a train, at least one of the passengers listed on the PNR must have an original government recognized photo identity card (like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, PAN Card, Driving License, Passport or Government Identity Card). Failure to show the original ID to the TTE during checking may result in the entire ticket being treated as invalid and the passenger being treated as traveling without a ticket and may be charged heavy penalty.
This is the most stringent and important rule of Tatkal ticket on which most of the passengers remain confused. As per the established rules of Railways, if your Tatkal ticket is ‘Confirmed Status’ and you cancel it of your own free will, you will get zero refund. That is, Railways does not refund any money on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket. However, under certain special circumstances, a full refund can also be given on a confirmed Tatkal ticket, such as if the train is delayed by more than 3 hours from its originating station, the route of the train is diverted and the passenger does not wish to travel on that route, or the coach in which your seat was not accommodated in the train and a seat in a lower class has been offered which you have not accepted. In these cases, full refund can be taken by filing TDR.
If you do not get a confirmed seat while booking a Tatkal ticket and the ticket is cut in ‘Tatkal Waiting List – TQWL’, the rules depend on the ticketing medium. If a ticket is booked online through the IRCTC website or app and is not confirmed by the time the chart is prepared, it gets auto cancelled. In such a situation, Railways simply deducts its minimum clerk charge and automatically sends the remaining amount back to the same bank account within 3 to 5 working days. Traveling by train on auto-cancel e-ticket is completely illegal. Whereas if you have taken a physical waiting tatkal ticket from the railway counter (PRS Counter), then if it is not confirmed even after the chart is prepared, then you can surrender it at the counter and get a refund before the commencement of the journey.
A special ‘Tatkal Charges’ is added to the Tatkal ticket in addition to the basic fare. This fee ranges from 10% to 30% of the basic fare depending on the distance and class of travel, with a minimum and maximum limit. Second class (2S) has a minimum Tatkal charge of ₹10 and a maximum of ₹15. In sleeper class the minimum charge is ₹100 and maximum ₹200. This extra charge ranges from ₹125 to ₹225 in AC chair car, minimum ₹300 to maximum ₹400 in AC 3-tier, minimum ₹400 to maximum ₹500 in AC 2-tier and minimum ₹400 to maximum ₹500 in executive class. This additional charge is added to the total ticket price per passenger.
Premium Tatkal (PT) is a dynamic pricing system introduced by Indian Railways. In ordinary Tatkal, seats are limited but the fare remains fixed throughout, whereas in premium Tatkal, as the seats are booked, the fare for the remaining seats increases continuously, on the lines of airplane tickets. Premium Tatkal tickets can be booked only on IRCTC website and mobile app, this facility is not available at the railway station counter. The biggest difference is that in Premium Tatkal there is no provision to book waitlisted tickets, only confirmed seats are sold and there is no option of cancellation refund under any circumstances.
Every second of time is precious to secure a seat when the window opens immediately. The first strategy is to prepare a ‘Master List’ by going to your profile section on the IRCTC app or website at least 24 hours before the start of booking, in which the names, ages and berth preferences of the passengers are already saved. Log in at 9:58 (for AC) or 10:58 (for Sleeper) at the time of booking and select passengers from the master list in a single click as soon as it is 10:00 or 11:00. For faster payment after entering the captcha code, opt for IRCTC i-Mudra Wallet, AutoPay or UPI QR code instead of net banking or debit card, because in these there is no need to wait for the OTP and the payment is completed in 5 to 10 seconds.
On the IRCTC booking page, there is a checkbox below the passenger details—”Book only if confirmed berths are allotted”. It is considered the most prudent step to tick this option at the time of Tatkal booking. If all available Tatkal seats are exhausted by the time your payment is processed, the system will not waitlist your ticket and your booking will be automatically canceled and your full amount refunded immediately. If you don’t tick it and the seats get filled at the last second, your money will be deducted, the ticket will go on waiting list and it may take several days to get that money back which may cause you unnecessary financial trouble.