10 Most Important Rules to Remember While Booking IRCTC Railway Tickets

The IRCTC, or Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, has changed its rules for reserving online train tickets. The Indian Railways, being the world’s 4th most extensive railway network, has introduced a few changes in an attempt to help travelers. Now, online tickets can be reserved up to 120 days beforehand, a user can book 12 tickets every month if he is Aadhaar-verified, and refunds can also be claimed if the train does not leave a station within 3 hours of the planned departure. First off, irctc train booking online allows only 25 seconds to fill up complete passenger information. Additionally, the lowest input time to fill Captcha on the passenger information and payment page is only 5 seconds.

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New IRCTC Rules for Train Booking Online

1. In an essential update for people who book their railway tickets online, there is a change in the IRCTC online train booking process. From now onwards, it would be compulsory for users to get their mobile numbers and email IDs confirmed prior to booking tickets via the website or app. Without confirmation, the booking will not be authorized.

How to Verify email id and mobile number before online ticket booking?

Here is a step-by-step guide by which users can verify mobile numbers and email IDs to book train tickets via the IRCTC railway ticket booking app or website.

Sign in to the IRCTC website or application.
Scroll to the verification window.
Insert the registered email ID and mobile number.
You will see an alternative for confirmation on the right side and an edit button on the left.
If you wish to alter both, or any one, click the edit button. If not, go for confirmation.
You will obtain an OTP or one-time password on your registered phone number.
Fill in the OTP.
To finish verification for the e-mail ID, you will need to go by the same procedure.

A guide to booking railway tickets after verification is done

Go to the IRCTC e-ticket booking portal or application.
Enter your details, for example, user id and password.
Fill in origin station, destination, journey date, and other information.
Choose the train.
Click the Book Now button.
Enter information like passenger age, name, gender, and berth choice.
Click the Make Payment alternative.
Select the payment mode.
Finish the transaction process.

2. A passenger can use the IRCTC e-ticketing service to book online tickets prior to 120 days, except the journey date. Approximately 6 tickets can be booked in a month from a single user ID, and 12 if the user has Aadhaar verification. At most 2 tickets can be booked from a single ID from 8 to 10 am.

3. Passengers can book tatkal tickets the day before traveling, which starts at 10 am for Air-Conditioned coaches, and 11 am for sleeper coaches.

4. From one user ID, only 2 tatkal tickets can be reserved in the opening tatkal window from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.

5. In the condition of tatkal ticket bookings, a maximum of 6 berths or seats can be reserved at a time for a particular journey amid any two stations furnished by the train, subject to distance limitations in the process.

6. Passengers can book only 1 tatkal ticket in a single session (other than the return journey).

7. Quick book or single page services cannot be availed between 8 am and 12 noon. A user can have only a single login period at a time. Captcha is open on login; after that, the passenger information and payment page come.

8. Ticket booking time for agents is between 8 am & 8.30 am, 10 am & 10.30 am, and 11 am & 11.30 am. Certified travel agents cannot reserve tatkal tickets in the initial 30 minutes after the online booking opens. This is to stop them from booking many tickets in a short span and give space to passengers for ticket booking.

9. For making payments via internet banking, all bank subscribers will have to authenticate themselves with an OTP or one-time password.

10. All passengers can now ask for refunds:

If the train does not leave the station within three hours of the expected departure.
If the route of the train has been changed and a passenger does not wish to travel on that particular route.
If a passenger has been sent to a lower class than what the ticket was reserved for, he or she does not wish to travel in the shifted class. But, if a passenger is okay with traveling in the lower class, then he or she will get the difference amount.

Indian Railways has also made it feasible for you to change a confirmed ticket to a 2nd passenger if you are not able to travel. CRS or Chief Reservation Supervisors are sources to allow changes in the passenger’s name 1 day before the planned train departure. The ticket can also be assigned to other members of his family, such as the mother, father, brother, sister, daughter, son, husband, and wife.