Tatkal Tickets: Last moment journeys are always difficult to manage but thanks to Indian Railways’ tatkal ticket feature, railway passengers or users can book train tickets just a day prior to the journey. The feature is widely used by people who have to travel at a very short notice or in emergencies by those who cannot secure reserved accommodation. However, the tatkal ticket booking facility is provided by Indian Railways on payment of premium charges on the first-come-first-served basis. Under this quota, e-tickets are permitted for booking, however, I-ticket booking is not allowed under the tatkal ticket booking facility.
Tatkal Ticket timings: According to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which is the e-ticketing arm of Indian Railways, the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of tatkal ticket booking facility has been reduced from two days to one day excluding the day of journey from the train originating railway station. Here is an example, if a train is to depart from the originating railway station on the second of the month, then the tatkal ticket booking facility for that particular train will open at 10:00 AM for air-conditioned class (2A/3A/CC/3E) and for Non air-conditioned class (SL/FC/2S), the facility will open at 11:00 AM on the first of the month from originating railway station. One should note that the option of tatkal ticket booking is not available for 1st AC.
How to book tatkal tickets on the new IRCTC website:
*Go to the new IRCTC website and enter ‘from’, ‘to’ stations, date. Then choose class and click on find trains.Now, a list of trains will appear. Select the train and check the availability by choosing the tatkal option under the Quota section.
*Now, to book the ticket, the passenger has to login by entering username and password.
*Now, enter details such as name, age, gender, seat preference, food choice, country. Below this, there is also an option to add more passengers.
*After accepting the terms and conditions, the passenger has to enter the captcha before clicking on continue booking.
*Now, the page will be directed to review the details provided by the passenger.
*After reviewing the details, the passenger can click on continue booking.
*Following this, the passenger has to make the payment by choosing the preferred mode of payment.
*Once the payment is made, the passenger can print the ticket by clicking the print ERS option.