Tatkal ticket rules changed ahead of summer rush; full refund on cancellation

The Indian Railways has introduced some new rules regarding booking of tickets via Tatkal services, which allows passengers to book tickets at the last minute in cases of emergency.

One can book Tatkal tickets on first come, first served basis through computerised Passenger Reservation System. Due to high demand during the rush hours or season, the seats get booked within a short span of time, especially  on the popular routes. Also, technical glitches on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website are very common.

In order to avoid these problems ahead of the summer rush, the national transporter has introduced a couple of new rules.

A look at the new rules:

• One has to book the tickets a day before the travel. For AC coach tickets, the bookings will start at 10 am, while for general coaches it would be 11 am.
• A passenger can claim complete refund of train fare and Tatkal charges, if the train fails to leave within three hours of its scheduled time.
• If a train's route is diverted and a passenger doesn't want to travel on that route, he can ask for a full refund.
• Also, a passenger can ask for a refund if the train's route is diverted and his station/stop is not in the new route
• A passenger can also claim a full refund if he/she is shifted to a lower class and he doesn't want to travel in that class.
• A passenger will be paid back the difference if he/she agrees to travel in the lower class.

Avoiding misuse
 
Recently, the Railway Ministry has introduced some inbuilt features in the tatkal ticket booking system to avoid misuse of Tatkal system. The features include, not granting refund if confirmed Tatkal tickets are cancelled, no modification (seat allocation) will be allowed and others.
 
Besides, authorised travel agents have been barred from booking tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes after the reservation opens.

Also to check fraudulent bookings through automation software, captcha in registration, login and booking page has been introduced. Now on, a passenger can book the tatkal tickets via internet in the alloted time. The payment gateway is not included in this timeframe.
 
For online payments, the national carrier has made OTP (one time password) must for all users.