Don’t you just hate it when you want to book train Tickets and all you get to see is No seats Available?
Yeah…It’s really frustrating when you are not able to get a confirmed Train Ticket.
But wait…
Wouldn’t it be great if You can get a Confirmed train Ticket Every time you want to Travel?
Yes… That’s possible With Tatkal Ticket Scheme.
But Remember one thing…
Getting a confirmed seat or Berth on any train can prove extremely Difficult and Impossible.
Topmost Travel company of India, IRCTC provides the ‘Tatkal’ or ‘Instant’ service to book a confirmed ticket on any long distance train in India.
Unfortunately, you might be unable to get a reservation under this category too, which is reserved for people travelling in a hurry or for some emergency.
The IRCTC website ranks among the busiest in the world, considering millions of passengers across the country booking tickets simultaneously.
Consequently, an available seat under Tatkal might simply be taken within a few seconds, leaving you stranded.
To help avoid such situations, we present some excellent tricks to get a Tatkal train ticket without much hassle, in the perfectly legit way and without using mobile phone apps provided by dubious sources.
Ways to Book Tatkal Tickets
There are three ways to book train tickets under Tatkal scheme.
- Booking counters at major railway stations.
- Online booking through IRCTC website.
- Through IRCTC authorized Railway Booking Agency.
Understandably, booking a Tatkal ticket at railway station counters can be a headache.
You need to complete a paper form, wait in long queues for your turn. There are no guarantees that you will get a confirmed seat or berth on the desired train by the time you reach the booking clerk.
Further, the facility is not available at all railway stations. This means you may have to travel to a booking counter located at some distance.
IRCTC authorized Railway Booking Agencies cannot provide any assurances of issuing a ticket under Tatkal.
They use the IRCTC booking portal and have no special privileges. Further, they will charge exorbitant fees for booking a Tatkal ticket.
This leaves the third option:
Do It Yourself…
Instead of venturing to a railway station counter or a Railway Booking Agency, just go online and book a Tatkal ticket on your own. It is much simpler and faster.
Indeed, the DIY method can also assure you of getting a confirmed seat on the desired train under Tatkal category.
Use these excellent tricks to get a Tatkal Ticket
10 Proven Tips to Get 100% Confirmed Tatkal Tickets:
Tip #1: Register on IRCTC Booking Portal
To make any reservations or buy tickets on Indian Railways, you need to be a registered user of the IRCTC reservation portal. This is very simple.
Simply visit the IRCTC website and complete the registration process using your valid email ID and mobile phone number.
I recommend you register on the IRCTC website immediately since it can prove very time consuming.
To register, you need to enter complex captcha codes and await One Time Password (OTP) sent by SMS on your mobile.
Additionally, you need to fill in details including permanent address, contact number and date of birth.
Having an account on IRCTC website is helpful because you can access the railway booking portal immediately.
Simply enter your registered username- which is usually your email ID, the password and key in the captcha code.
Tip #2: Provide Billing Information
Here I advise you to use discretion. While registering, the Indian Railways portal asks for billing information.
Whether or not to provide this information is your choice. There is one distinct advantage in providing billing information.
Since Tatkal tickets availability is decided within seconds, providing billing information saves vital minutes.
IRCTC accepts credit card/ debit card and net banking payments. Instead of giving your credit/debit card numbers, simply mention the bank name, account number and other relevant details needed for net banking.
Once you are registered for buying tickets through net banking on the Indian Railways portal, all you need do is key in the OTP that will be sent to your mobile by the bank.
Hence, no transaction can occur without your authorization. Keying in such information while buying Tatkal tickets will cause delays. The ticket you wanted might become unavailable.
Tip #3: Shortlist Available Trains
This is extremely important while booking a ticket under Tatkal.
Unless you know the names of various trains going to your destination and the railway station from where it originates, a lot of time would be wasted in finding suitable ones.
The Indian Railways booking portal will display a wide choice of trains- direct and indirect.
This makes choosing one even more complex. Hence, it pays to know the names of trains that you prefer, well in advance.
Booking a Tatkal ticket is easier if the train is arriving at your railway station from a distant location. This is because trains pick up and drop passengers at various railway stations on way to your destination.
A lot of these would be passengers that disembark at your railway station.
Several of these would have made confirmed reservations before travelling. Hence, you stand good chances of getting a seat vacated by a passenger.
Remember, express trains that have few stops will have more vacant seats. This occurs because people tend to book on the fastest trains.
Therefore, scores of people will have gotten off the train before it reaches your station, thereby increasing the chances of your getting a confirmed Tatkal booking.
Also Read: Top 10 Best Taxi Apps in India
Tip #4: Keep Passenger Information Handy
You have to provide proper information about every passenger while booking a Tatkal ticket.
This includes their correct name and age. Nowadays, it is also necessary to provide an Aadhar card, Permanent Account Number (PAN) or details of any other identity proof issued by the Central or a state government.
It is essential to have Aadhar, PAN or other information handy since a Tatkal ticket cannot be booked without providing these details.
Further, ensure that all passengers will carry the identity proof you have mentioned while reserving the Tatkal ticket. Such ID proof has to be shown when you board the train.
This is a mandatory requirement enforced by Indian Railways. It helps prevent unscrupulous parties from booking tickets under bogus names using the Tatkal system.
Tip #5: Use High Speed, Reliable Internet
Armed with an IRCTC account and choice of trains, go online and log in to the Indian Railways reservations portal.
Use a very high speed and reliable Internet connection. Slow connections can make you lose on the much needed Tatkal ticket since booking positions change within seconds.
For any reason, if you have forgotten your password, simply request an OTP. This will be delivered by SMS to your mobile phone.
Remember, it is useless to attempt Tatkal ticket bookings without logging in.
Key in the boarding station and destination. The portal will immediately display various options available.
The list of trains is usually in ascending order, based on time of the day.
Click on the train you wish to travel and select the date of travel.
Go to the ‘Quota’ link on the extreme right side of the webpage and select Tatkal. All trains that head for your destination.
Now click on the ‘Check Availability’ link shown alongside the name of the train. This will indicate whether a seat is available or not, waiting list status and fare.
Additionally, it will also show you the next date on which a confirmed Tatkal seat can be reserved. When this occurs, book the ticket immediately to avoid delays and disappointments.
Tip #6: Include a Senior Citizen
Indian Railways offers discounts and other benefits to senior citizens. This includes women over the age of 58 years and men above 60 years.
If you include a senior citizen in the list of persons travelling together, there are better chances of getting a ticket under the Tatkal scheme.
Indian Railways allots a special quota of seats for senior citizens. Hence, while booking a ticket under Tatkal, the senior citizen will surely get a seat.
And you too get a seat as their companion.
Even if a senior citizen is not travelling with you, including the name, age and ID proof: once you have the Tatkal ticket confirmed, you can always cancel their specific ticket while retaining yours.
However, before including a senior citizen, ensure you have their correct name and proper identity card details.
Also, put the senior citizen’s name as the first traveler on your list. This automatically pushes your Tatkal application to the special quota and you are assured of a seat.
Tip #7: Travelling with NRI, OCI & Foreigners
Similar to senior citizens, Indian Railways also has a special quota for Non Resident Indians visiting the country, persons of Indian origin that hold foreign passports and have an Overseas Citizen of India card and foreign nationals.
If any of your family members or foreign friends are travelling along with, getting seats under Tatkal becomes easy.
However, in such cases, ensure that the foreign national, NRI or OCI appears as the first traveller while making reservations.
Thus, your online reservation automatically bypasses the general Tatkal system and accesses seats available to NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals.
Tip #8: Use IRCTC Official App Only
This is something very important. Nowadays, a lot of mobile phone apps provided by persons and organizations of dubious nature are available on the Internet.
They come with fancy names that include the word ‘Tatkal’. These apps are a mere gimmick.
They are not capable of miraculously booking a seat under the Tatkal scheme for you. Instead, they will merely display ads. They will delay your access to the Indian Railways booking portal.
The IRCTC official portal is an ideal way to make Tatkal reservations. It can be downloaded easily on your smartphone and is simple to use.
You can log in with the same user ID and password as the Indian Railways booking portal or create an altogether new account.
The IRCTC app comes loaded with features.
It allows you to make a Tatkal reservation even while you are commuting or outdoors and have no access to a computer or cyber-café. All it needs is a good smartphone connected to high speed Internet.
Tip #9: Tatkal Waitlisted Tickets
This should come as no surprise, but there is also a waiting list for Tatkal tickets on certain high demand trains and routes such as Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.
However, this waiting list is nothing to worry about.
Generally, you will get a confirmed ticket on any train under the Tatkal scheme provided the waiting list number indicated by the portal is less than 20.
There is a reason why Tatkal tickets also come under waiting list. Travel agents make multiple bookings under the Tatkal scheme for a single client.
Now… A major question that you might be having is…
Can tatkal Tickets Be Cancelled?
The answer to it is… Yes, you can.
Most of the travel agents cancel Extra Tatkal tickets as the travel date approaches. Understandably, the customer loses considerable money due to such cancellations but is assured of a ticket.
On the other hand, travel agents stand to earn heavy commissions by getting their customers a Tatkal ticket.
Tip #10: Use Travel Agents
While talking about travel agents, you can also book a Tatkal ticket through one. These agents have systems that enable them to get priority while booking tickets under the Tatkal scheme.
This is because of a dedicated reservation system of Indian Railways.
Only registered travel companies that have paid stiff deposits and service charges to Indian Railways are privileged to utilize this exclusive reservation system.
When you approach a major travel company to book a ticket under Tatkal, you stand better chances of getting one. A travel company will charge its service fees.
But if you are travelling in a hurry and have no time to go online to book a Tatkal ticket, travel agents will do the needful.
If using services of a travel agent, make sure it is a large and reputed company. Only large companies can afford access to the Indian Railways reservation system.
Hence, their booking clerks will access the system directly and make your reservation. Smaller companies will source this work from a larger one that can cause delays.
Wrap Up
Never attempt Booking or Buy a Tatkal Train ticket from touts at railway stations and elsewhere. As I have mentioned, every Tatkal reservation has to be made with supporting ID proof.
You can land in very serious trouble with the law if you are found travelling on a railway ticket issued on another name. There are no MAGICAL ways to get a Tatkal ticket.
However, you can speed up your processes and follow some suggestions mentioned in this article to book a confirmed Tatkal ticket.
How to book 100% Tatkal tickets online is a very helpful writing. Next time I shall not go to the agent and try to book tatkal tickets from home online.