IRCTC Tatkal Ticket Booking

IRCTC Tatkal Ticket Booking: Indian Railways have a special type of tickets called Tatkal Tickets for last minute bookings.These tickets are issued by IRCTC one day prior to your train departure. Tatkal tickets are reserved tickets which can be booked a day in advance of your journey for a premium price than the regular tickets.

IRCTC makes Tatkal tickets available under Tatkal Quota. The price of a tatkal ticket is the fare price of the journey + tatkal charges. However, it does not guarantee a confirmed ticket. You can get a Waiting List ticket and that has almost no chance of confirmation.

There are two types of Tatkal Tickets-

1. Regular Tatkal
2. Premium Tatkal

Difference between Premium Tatkal and Normal Tatkal Tickets : 

Tatkal and Premium Tatkal work in the same manner. They only differentiating factor is price, i.e. one is available at a higher (more premium ) cost from the other 

The main difference between the two is,PRICE

In Premium Tatkal Tickets, confirmed seats (If available) in a train are sold at a premium price. This arises due to dynamic pricing. 

Booking Tatkal Tickets 

Like regular IRCTC Train Tickets, tatkal tickets can be purchased either online or offline. 

The offline mode : It is when you purchase the tatkal train ticket directly from the railway ticket counter. 

The online Mode : It is when you make an online purchase. You can book Indian Railways Tatkal Tickets on IRCTC website or use booking apps that give a greater chance of confirmation like Railofy.

How to Book Tatkal Tickets

Also Read : How to book confirmed train ticket

Tatkal Ticket Booking Timings 

For AC class the ticket booking window opens at 10:00 AM. This includes train tickets for AC 1 Tier (1A), AC 2 Tier(2A),AC Tier(3A), Chair Car Coach (CC), Executive Chair (EC), AC-3 Economy (3E)
For Non-AC classes, the ticket booking window opens at 11:10 AM. This includes train tickets for Sleeper (SL), First Class (FC), and Second Seating (2S).

Tatkal booking timings are the same for online and offline. Tatkal Tickets are booked one day in advance of the date of the journey.

Confirmation of Tatkal Tickets

As there are limited tickets available in this quota, you can find yourself getting a Waitlist Tatkal Ticket.

As the priority of confirmation is given to GNWL (General Waitlist) the chances of WL tatkal tickets getting confirmed is very rare. It depends on factors like 

1. Available Tatkal Tickets.
2. Route and duration of train.
3. Date of journey, as during festive seasons, the chances are low.

Cancellation and Refunds of Tatkal Tickets

In case of confirmed Tatkal Tickets, there is no refund if the passenger cancels the ticket. However, if the train is canceled, a refund is processed. For waitlist tatkal tickets, you get an automatic refund post charting. 

As per IRCTC Rules, passengers are not entitled to refunds for confirmed Tatkal Tickets. Refunds are only processed when

• The train is delayed by more than three hours at the originating point of the passenger and not the boarding point. (In case, the originating and boarding point of the journey are different)
• If the train has to run on a different/diverted route and the passenger refuses not to travel.
• If the diverted route of the train does not cross the boarding or destination or both the stations.
• For nonattachment of a coach in which Tatkal accommodation has been embarked but the passenger has not been provided accommodation in the same class.
• If the passenger gets accommodation in the lower class and chooses not to travel. If the passenger chooses to travel in a lower class, they are given a refund of the difference of fare and tatkal charges, if there are any.

In the case of the WL Tatkal Ticket (booked online), it will get canceled automatically. A nominal charge will be deducted, and the rest will be refunded.

Also, if tickets are booked via Railofy, you can avail of free cancellation.

Here’s a video on how free cancellation works

Tatkal Tickets Availability

The tickets available vary with different trains, their routes and duration. However, if you wish to calculate the exact no. of tickets, follow these steps.

Step One: Go to Indian Railways Enquiry Page- Welcome to Indian Railway Passenger Reservation Enquiry

Step Two : Click on the ‘Trains between stations’ option,located at the top of the page.

Step Three : Put in the train details. Add a date which is a day ahead from the date today.

Step Four : Now in the ‘enter quota’ drop down menu, just select ‘Tatkal Quota’, and select the train for which you want to find the tatkal details.

Step Five : 5. Click on ‘get availability’ option to display results.

Tatkal Ticket Fares

Below is a summarized Tatkal Ticket Fare list.

IRCTC Tatkal Tickets FAQs