How to Book Tatkal Ticket in IRCTC App or Website in 2023

Tatkal Ticket facility is provided by the railway to book a ticket just before the day of the journey. Mostly Tatkal Ticket is booked during some emergency or in some uncertainty. But, getting a confirmed Tatkal ticket from a Railway Booking counter is like a nightmare.

In such a situation, you can get your Ticket booked from the IRCTC smartphone application or from its website. So to book a confirmed Taktal Ticket follow the steps and the tips & tricks shared below.

What is the Tatkal Ticket by IRCTC?

Tatkal means ‘immediate’. It is a service to book tickets on Indian railways. The tickets can be booked only once the tatkal gateway opens and the booking will be done on a first come first serve basis.

The tatkal ticket booking open starts at 10:00 am for A.C Classes whereas the booking open for Non-AC. starts at 11:00 am. The previous day of the journey and the tickets are sold on First Come First Serve Basis.

Types of Tatkal Ticket

There are two types of Tatkal tickets which you can book online using the IRCTC Application/Website or by going to the Railway Ticket Counter.

1. Tatkal Ticket: This type of ticket is available for all Mail/Express/Shatabdi/Duranto and other trains before one day of the Journey Date. Fair of the tatkal ticket in these trains has some fix charges depending upon Journey Class.
2. Premium Tatkal: It was first introduced in 2014. Premium tatkal is almost similar to the Tatkal Ticket booking scheme. The Premium Tatkal booking facility is available only for some limited trains on certain routes only. The major difference between these two types of Tickets is that the earlier one is less costly compared to the latter one. The ticket fare of Premium Tatkal goes up as the seat got filled.

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Tatkal Ticket Booking Timing Online and Offline

Whether it’s an offline or online method for booking Tatkal Ticket. The Timing for Tatkal Ticket booking window opens at the same time. This means you can book your ticket online from IRCTC Website and while the offline tatkal ticket can be booked by visiting the nearest Indian Railway Station.

• A.C Class Includes: 1st, 2nd, 3rd A.C, and all other AC Chair Car, AC Economy Class.
• Non-A.C Includes: Sleeper Class, Second Sitting, and all other Non-A.C Coaches.

How to Book Tatkal or Premium Ticket using IRCTC APP?

There are two ways to book a tatkal ticket:

• Offline: Offline Tatkal Ticket can be booked by visiting the nearest Indian Railway Counter within a fixed booking time.
• Online: Online Tatkal Ticket can be booked in further two ways.
  • IRCTC App
  • IRCTC Website

The process of Booking Tatkal or Premium Tatkal is the same. Follow the steps given below to book Tatkal / Premium Tatkal online using IRCTC Application or IRCTC Website.

Step1

Download and Install the IRCTC official application from PLAY STORE. (If you don’t have a user id, then make sure to create your user id first on IRCTC).

Step 2

Check your clock and Internet Speed before booking Tatkal/Premium Tatkal.

Step 3

Open the IRCTC App then enter your user id and password to Log-in into IRCTC Dashboard.

Step 4

Click on Train Section > Click on Book Ticket.

Step 5

Under From Section: Select Originating Station.

Step 6

Under To Section: Select your Destination Station.

Step 7

Under Class Section: Select your journey class (2A/3A/CC/EC/3E/SL/2S etc.).

Step 8

Under Quota Section: Select Tatkal / Premium Tatkal (Depends upon Train Availability).

Step 8: Departure Date: Select Next Day-Date for as your traveling date.

Step 9

Click on Search Trains.

Step 10

Select any one Train from the list at your convenience.

Step 11

Click Refresh to get the Present Seat Availability of that particular class.

Step 12

Select your Date of Journey > Then click on Passenger Details. > Click I Agree to accept the Terms and Conditions.

Step 13

Select Passenger: Click on + Add New to add passenger Details (on a single ticket you can add up to 5 travelers’ detail).

Step 14

Add any one of the Passenger Mobile numbers from the traveler list.

Step 15

Choose any one of the existing payment methods and make your payment.

Some key-Points before opting for Tatkal Ticket

Go through these key points before booking Tatkal or Premium Tatkal by any means.

• This is the best option available for any unplanned trip.
• A last-minute ticket booking is possible with this feature.
• You will get a confirmed seat by spending some extra amount from your pocket.
• Tatkal Ticket is not available for Local Trains and for MEMUs.
• Ladies and General quota can’t be opted along with Tatkal Quota.
• There is no guarantee you will get a confirmed tatkal ticket. But with the help of some tips given below, you can increase your chance to get your tatkal seat booked.
• Tatkal tickets can be booked only one day in advance for the following coaches (2A/3A/CC/EC/3E/2S).
• There is No Senior Citizen or any other concession allowed with Tatkal Quota.

Key Points related to Tatkal Ticket Cancellation

• No refunds will be granted to Confirmed Tatkal or Premium Ticket.
• If your tatkal waiting ticket or RAC ticket got confirmed before the final chart preparation. Then you would not be entitled to get a refund on these tickets after cancellation.
• For unanticipated and waiting list tatkal tickets cancellation, charges will be deducted as per existing Railway Guidelines/Rules.
• If a train is canceled or late by 3 hours or more, then you can claim your Tatkal Ticket Refund by filing a TDR with the reason said earlier.

Tips & Tricks to book fast Tatkal Ticket

Every second is crucial when tatkal/premium ticket booking is open. So we must focus on how to reduce the time taken during the ticket booking process. So that we will get the confirmed ticket in our hands. If you follow these tips & tricks during Tatkal/Premium Tatkal ticket booking, then somehow your chances of getting a confirmed tatkal ticket will increase.

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• Use a high-speed internet connection (Always Prefer Broadband Connection like Jio-Fiber or Aitel Xstream or 4G high-speed internet connectivity).
• Usually, the Credit/Debit Card/Net-Banking or UPI payment method took much time compared to the E-Wallet payment method. So, always prefer to use IRCTC E-Wallet or any third-party wallets like Paytm or MobiKwik for payment purposes/methods.
• Sometimes due to technical glitches, the amount gets deducted during ticket booking but still, the ticket doesn’t get booked. Since the refund process takes around 2 to 5 days. So you must avoid this problem by always putting some extra amount in your e-wallet.
• Use Auto-Fill IRCTC Chrome Extension on the Chrome browser to reduce your ticket booking time.
• Use the Master List feature of IRCTC, to add all the passenger details before ticket booking. With this feature, you can easily add passenger details with a single click.

Final Words

In this article, you get to know How to Book Tatkal Ticket online using IRCTC Application on your smartphone, and at the end, you also get to know some tips and tricks to increase your chance to get a confirmed Tatkal or Premium Tatkal Ticket. If you have any doubts, suggestions, or feedback related to IRCTC Tatkal Booking then let us know by commenting down below, thank you.

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indoGeeks Team

The Article written by the indoGeeks Team is well researched from different sources. Do let us know any typo or other kind of error by commenting down below. It will help us to make this internet a good and error-free source of information for the community.