Tatkal Ticket Booking: As the festive season approaches, the number of homebound passengers on trains increases significantly. Everyone wants to reach their family especially on big festivals like Diwali or Chhath. Getting a confirmed seat in the trains is not less than a big challenge due to such huge crowd. The situation is that many people book their tickets months in advance, but still cannot get a confirmed berth. If you are also facing the same problem, Indian Railways Tatkal Ticket Quota can be a big help for you. Railways make some limited seats available under this quota one day before the journey. If you book at the right time and do some preparation in advance, your chances of getting a confirmed ticket increase to a great extent.

What time does Tatkal ticket window open?

The most important thing to book Tatkal tickets is to know the exact time. As per railway rules, Tatkal ticket booking opens one day before the date of departure of the train from the originating station. In which different times have also been fixed for different classes. If you want to travel in AC class, booking for the same starts from 10 am. At the same time, the ticket booking window for sleeper or other non-AC classes opens at 11 am. To understand this with a simple example, suppose your train departs from its original station on 28th October. In such a case, to get tatkal ticket for that train, you have to book one day before i.e. morning of 27 October.

Proper preparation to book tickets from IRCTC

During the festive season, Tatkal quota seats get sold out within minutes. In such a situation, after the booking starts, it is very important to do some preparation in advance to save time. First of all, keep your IRCTC account fully prepared. Creating a new account or searching for a forgotten password at the time of booking can waste your precious time. Apart from this, to book Tatkal tickets, it is also necessary to verify your account with Aadhaar. Get this verification done in advance. Decide in advance which date you want to travel, which station you want to go to, and which train you want to board.

Do not delay this at all while booking

When you are fully prepared, sit on the system a few minutes before the scheduled time. For AC tickets, login to your IRCTC account before 10 am, while for sleeper tickets, login to your IRCTC account. Select your class instantly with your scheduled train as soon as the booking opens. After this select Tatkal Quota there. Then fill correct passenger details without wasting time. The most important part of this entire process is the payment. Don’t delay the payment for the slightest, otherwise all your hard work will go in vain. Once your ticket is successfully booked, check your PNR number.

Also understand the refund rules

It is very important to keep in mind some special rules while booking Tatkal tickets. As per railway rules, maximum four passenger tickets can be booked on one PNR in Tatkal quota. Apart from this, along with normal fare, Tatkal charges also have to be paid separately. So, while making online payment, keep enough money ready in your account. One of the most important thing is that once your tatkal ticket is confirmed, normally no refund is given on its cancellation. So, before making the payment, check all the passenger details including your travel date carefully, so that you don’t suffer any loss later.