All classes of travel, with the exception of General/Unreserved coaches, require passengers wishing to travel on Indian Railway trains to reserve their seat in advance. With a seat or berth assigned to your name, you can travel in the train and travel class of your choosing thanks to the railway reservation service. This is all the information you need to book a train ticket in India.
Reservation of trains via PRS (Passenger Reservation System) Counters
In India, there is a reservation office linked to every major railway station. Satellite reservation offices may also be found in different regions of several major cities. In order to make a reservation at a PRS counter, you must fill out a form providing your travel information. The ticket will be issued by the counter ticketing personnel based on ticket availability. The reservation counters for Indian Railways are open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and on Sundays from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Railway Reservation Online through IRCTC
Additionally, reservations for tickets can be made online using Indian Railways’ official online ticketing partner, IRCTC. IRCTC Next Generation e-Ticketing System (official website) and IRCTC Rail Connect (official app) are the places to book online train tickets. The ticket that is issued is known as an Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS), or e-Ticket. To use the reservation services, which are available throughout the day except for the hours of 11:45 pm to 12:20 am (IST) every night, you must register with IRCTC.
Reservations for Tatkal and Premium Tatkal Tickets
Through the Tatkal ticket reservation program, travelers can purchase tickets up to one day in advance of the departure date for an extra fee. A Tatkal variation is the Premium Tatkal (PT) reservation, which uses a dynamic pricing model where ticket prices change in response to demand. While PT tickets can only be reserved online, Tatkal tickets can be reserved both online and at PRS counters. For AC sessions, Tatkal reservations begin at 10:00 am, and for non-AC classes, they begin at 11:00 am.
Period of Advance Reservation (ARP)
The ARP for General Quota reservations is 120 days in advance of the departure date, excluding the voyage date. The ARP for Tatkal and Premium Tatkal reservations is one day prior to the journey date, omitting the journey date. ARPs for several trains are less than 120 days, including special trains and mountain trains. Under the Foreign Tourist Quota, tickets can be purchased by foreign tourists and NRIs 365 days before the trip.
Reserved Travel Classes
All travel classes—aside from the General or Unreserved class—allow reservations. AC First Class, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, AC Chair Car, Executive Chair Car, Sleeper, First Class, and Second Seating are among the reserved travel classes. For all classes other than the 1 AC class, a confirmed train reservation will always include a seat number and coach number. Seats for reservations made for one AC will only be assigned once the chart is ready.
Railway Reservation Quotas
Different reservation quotas are used to distribute seats in Indian Railway trains; some are unrestricted for broad public use, while others are allocated for particular passenger groups. For example, under the General Quota, tickets can be reserved by anybody, but under the Lower Berth Quota, tickets can only be reserved by senior citizens, pregnant women, or women 45 years of age or older.
Railway Reservation Auto-Upgradation
Waitlisted passengers who have paid their full cost can travel in a higher class without incurring any additional fees thanks to a program called auto upgradation. When making a reservation, you must choose for auto upgradation. If there are open seats in a higher class, you will only be upgraded. Only one class above your original travel class is automatically upgraded. In other words, you will be promoted to 3 AC if you have a waitlisted ticket for the sleeper class. Those who have tickets on waitlists for either the 2 AC or 3 AC classes will be upgraded to the 1 AC or 2 AC class.
Scheme VIKALP for Railway Reservation
Through the VIKALP reservation program, waitlisted passengers can choose to book confirmed tickets in other trains that are traveling the same route on the same day. This service has no additional fees and is dependent on seat and train availability. When making a ticket reservation, you can indicate your preferred optional trains and choose to use VIKALP. Under this technique, your destination and boarding points may be switched to a nearby station. You forfeit the right to board your original train once you are assigned a seat in an alternate train.
Railway Reservations for Foreigners
Foreigners and NRIs can utilize the IRCTC portal to purchase train tickets in the 2 AC, 1 AC, and Executive travel classes. The reservation process is the same as for Indian nationals, except foreigners and NRIs can only book through the Foreign Tourist Quota. Each booking incurs a registration fee of ₹ 100 + GST and a service fee of ₹ 200 + GST. Payment can be made with international debit and credit cards.
Rules for Railway Reservations
General Quota reservations allow for the booking of six passengers per ticket. Per Tatkal reservation, a maximum of four passengers is permitted per ticket.
Per ID, IRCTC users are limited to six monthly ticket reservations. Individuals whose Aadhaar verification of their accounts has been concluded are permitted to reserve 12 tickets per ID per month.
Reservations are accepted until the initial chart is prepared, which typically occurs four hours before the train’s scheduled departure.
Certain railroads permit current reservations, in which vacant seats may be reserved following the initial chart preparation.
