Time, refunds, other rules to know before booking a Tatkal train ticket

Tatkal train ticket booking: Indian Railways offers an option of immediate train- ticket booking option under its Tatkal scheme. Passengers who need to book tickets last minute can avail this facility provided by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of Indian Railways. One must keep in mind that the Tatkal tickets are slightly expensive than the normal tickets.

The Railways has fixed the Tatkal charges. For example, the minimum Tatkal charge for second class of travel is an extra 10 per cent of basic fare, while for all the other classes of travel including Sleeper, AC Chair, etc the passenger needs to pay a minimum 30 per cent of the basic fare.

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Here top 6 points to note before booking a Tatkal ticket:

1. Right time to book a Tatkal ticket:

One can book a Tatkal ticket for AC classes at 10 a.m. and for NON-AC at 11 a.m, a day before the date of journey. For example, for a train leaving on July 18, 2019, Tatkal booking will commence at 10 a.m. for AC Classes and at 11 a.m. for NON-AC classes on July 17.

2. The Tatkal tickets can be booked for maximum four passengers per PNR.

3. The web service agents of the IRCTC are permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day on the internet.

4. The facility of change of name is not permitted  on the tickets made under Tatkal.

5. At the time of Tatkal ticket booking only one passenger needs to produce identity proof for group bookings.

6. No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets. However, the Indian Railways give full refund of fare, including the Tatkal charges to the passenger if,

• The train is delayed by more than 3 hours from the originating point of a journey. For eg. if a train is travelling from A to B gets delayed by more than 3 hours at A (originating point), then the passenger will get a full refund, including Tatkal charges. But one will not be refunded if their boarding point is different from their journey originating point.
• If the train runs on a diverted route and passenger is not willing to travel.
• If the train is to run on diverted route and boarding station or the destination or both the stations are not on the diverted route.
• In case the passenger has not been allotted the coach that was earmarked.
• If the passenger has been accommodated in lower class under Tatkal scheme but does not want to travel in that coach.

Also read: Indian Railways to offer additional 4 lakh berths per day by October with green technology

Also read: Budget 2019: Railways get budgetary allocation of Rs 65,837 crore; govt to focus on PPP mode for faster development