Tatkal Ticket Booking

Tatkal is a ticket booking scheme that was introduced by the Indian Railways to help passengers needing to travel at a short notice. In case you need to travel urgently and cannot get tickets in the General quota, you can book tickets under the Tatkal quota. Tatkal ticket booking can be done for all classes except Unreserved/General Class and First AC.Tatkal tickets can be booked online with the help of redRail by redBus, an initiative authorised by IRCTC. You can also book Tatkal tickets offline at a railway ticket counter. But going the online route can definitely save you from the long queues at the booking counters. Tatkal ticket booking time is one day before the train starts its journey from the origin station.

Wondering how to book tatkal tickets online? AC and sleeper class Tatkal ticket booking can be done online through redRail by redBus. redRail makes IRCTC tatkal booking easy and hassle-free. It is a platform authorised by IRCTC, where you book Tatkal tickets one day in advance. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Visit the redRail app or website one day before the date of journey of the desired train from the origin station.
2. Enter the names of the origin and destination stations
3. Enter your date of journey and click on ‘Search’
4. You will be shown the Tatkal tickets that are available.
5. Enter your IRCTC ID and passenger details. You can book up to 4 Tatkal tickets per PNR.
Choose a payment method.
6. Enter your IRCTC password to finalise the booking.

You can also book tatkal tickets over the counter at a railway station.

Tatkal ticket booking can only be done one day before the train’s journey from the origin station.Tatkal ticket booking starts from 10 AM for AC classes (except First Class AC). While sleeper class tatkal booking time is 11 AM. The timings are the same for online as well as offline bookings. Hence it is advised that you should take note of the tatkal booking time table and be prepared to book your tickets 15 minutes in advance from the stipulated booking time.

For Tatkal ticket booking, there are additional charges that are levied. The additional tatkal charges vary from 10% to 30% of the basic fare. For sleeper class, it is 10% of the basic fare. For AC classes, it is 30% of the basic fare. Here are the tatkal charges per ticket:Minimum Extra Charges for Tatkal

• Second Class (sitting)- Rs.10
• Sleeper Class- Rs.100
• AC Chair Car Class- Rs.125
• AC 3 Tier Class- Rs.300
• AC 2 Tier Class- Rs.400
• Executive Class- Rs.400

Maximum Extra Charges for Tatkal

• Second Class (sitting)- Rs.15
• Sleeper Class- Rs.200
• AC Chair Car Class- Rs.225
• AC 3 Tier Class- Rs.400
• AC 2 Tier Class- Rs.500
• Executive Class- Rs.500

Tatkal tickets can be confirmed or waitlisted. You should keep the following things in mind while cancelling your tatkal tickets:

• For confirmed tickets:
  • There is no refund on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets.
• For RAC or waitlisted tickets:
  • In case of RAC or waitlisted tatkal tickets, cancellation can be done until 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time of the train. However, tatkal cancellation charges apply.
  • No refund is issued if you cancel after 30 minutes from the scheduled departure time of the train.
  • If the status of previously RAC or waitlisted tickets are shown as confirmed, then they are treated just like confirmed tickets. No refund is issued on their cancellation.
For Waitlisted Tickets:
• For tatkal tickets where all the passengers are waitlisted even after the preparation of the final reservation chart, refund is issued after deducting clerkage charges.

redRail by redBus makes tatkal ticket cancellations easy. Now you can simply view the details of your booking and find the option to modify or cancel your train tickets. You can also opt for ‘Free Cancellation’ at the time of booking to avoid paying cancellation charges later. The ‘Free Cancellation’ option requires you to pay a nominal additional charge but in return, makes cancellation free of cost.