Regular
Passenger tickets can be bought online, at ticket counters, and through
some mobile services. Tickets booked on the website can earn the user
prizes and Railway Points that can be reimbursed against further
journeys
Booking
opens for most trains between 45 – 60 days before the travel date. For
the holiday season, this may extend to 90 days. For some trains, the
period may be as low as 15 days. Advance booking continues till four
hours before the departure time
Indian Railways Tickets Information on Current Booking
From four hours till before the departure time, tickets can be bought at the Current booking counters.
Indian Railways Tickets Information on Tatkal (Quick) Booking
For a surcharge, it is possible to book tickets reserved in a quota at
very short notice even if the regular bookings are full.
Indian Railways Tickets Information about Reservation against Cancellation (RAC)
Three
persons per coach may reserve tickets even after the bookings of berths
are full. They have reservation of seats, but not berths to sleep. They
are confirmed for berths only if there is any cancellation.
Indian Railways Tickets Information on Passenger details
- Passenger details required to reserve a seat / berth
- Name, Age, Sex
- Concessions available (student, military, old age, public servant, railway employee, etc).
- Expected class of travel
- Number of passengers
- Start and end points of journey
Indian Railways Tickets Information on quotas as well as concessions for a variety of groups
- Parliament house
- Head Office
- Defense officials
- Foreign tourist
- Handicapped person
- Duty pass
- Ladies
Indian Railways Tickets Information on Cancellation/ Postponement / Preponement
When
making any changes in the reservations, a charge is levied, that ranges
from INR 10 to a good percentage (25 – 50%) of the cost of the ticket.
Changes are to be done up till the charting time, and the sooner one
makes the changes, the lesser is the charge. For refunds and
cancellation after departure of the train, one needs to present the
ticket as soon as possible to a ticketing counter. Tickets booked
online cannot be canceled likewise, except for E-tickets. They need to
be presented to a booking counter.
Indian Railways Tickets Information on Special Tickets
IndRail
passes are designed for the convenience of foreign nationals and
non-resident Indians who want to travel in India. Payment is required
to be made in foreign currency, and the pass is issued against an
identity proof (e.g.: passport). The pass validity period ranges from
one day to 90 days, and allows the pass holder unlimited access to
travel on regular passenger services.. Passes are available for use in
different classes of accommodation, ranging from First Class AC to
Sleeper class.
- saves money
- no need to buy tickets differently, though accommodation reservations have to be made for each leg of the journey
- Provides assess to tourist quotas for reservation
- Explorer Pass is similar to the IndRail pass, but is for use by Indian citizens
These
are tickets that allow an individual to travel along a route that ends
at the station the journey started. The passenger is not allowed to
move through one station twice. There are a few standard routes
available, but it is possible to customize a route that suits one's
needs.
The complete trip has a
specific duration, and eight breaks are allowed in the journey. The
duration allowed is significantly more than that allowed if one buys
ordinary tickets. A break is defined as a stop of over 24 hours at an
intermediate point.
The fare is calculated by doubling the fare applicable to half the traveled distance.
These
are sight-seeing tours arranged by the IRCTC that include train travel,
hotel stay, any road transport that applies and meals as part of the
package. The packages have itineraries that may be fixed or flexible.
Any expenses for tours and sight-seeing activities that are included in
the itinerary are covered by the package. Different packages operate at
different times of the year. There are Budget, Standard and Deluxe
options.
The Rail Tour Packages are
open to only Indian citizens – residential and non residential. The
IRCTC website provides all the details for the different packages,
including the quality of accommodation, meals, and travel and price and
itinerary. It is possible to book the tour online by paying via credit
card or Internet banking or by paying by cash or demand draft at an
IRCTC office.
In event of canceling a tour package, a cancellation charge that ranges from INR 100 to the full package value is levied.
