New to IRCTC e-ticket platform? Here is how to book train tickets online; see full list of rules

From time-to-time the Indian Railways has announced various measures in regards to booking train tickets online through its digital platform Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC). The regulatory board has taken care of both reservation and tatkal ticket booking, making life easier for customers. Exactly how popular the platform is is clear from the fact that a massive 13 lakh tickets are booked every day from IRCTC portal. Also, since due care has to be exercised and  in order to avoid being misled in booking tickets via the online platform, Indian Railways has released a list of rules, which travellers must follow. Take a look at these new rules. 

1 A standard time of 25 seconds has been fixed for filling passenger details. While for feeding, the passenger details page and the minimum time to write a cap on the pay page is five seconds.

2 Users will have to answer security-related questions in order to protect their personal information which is stored with IRCTC. A customers stores personal information like his name, email, mobile number on their IRCTC portal. 

3  Authorised agents are not allowed to book tatkal tickets during first half an hour of opening of booking in the morning.  Agents are not allowed to book tatkal tickets between 8:00 am to 8:30 am, 10:00 am to 10:30 am and 11:00 am to 11:30 am. This move is followed to prevent agents from bagging the tickets at the time of opening of tatkal and advance reservation period bookings. 

4 One-Time-Password (OTP) has been made compulsory for all net banking payment options. 

5 A captcha has been implemented in Registration, Login and Booking page to check fraudulent booking through automation software.

6 A minimum time limit has been imposed before proceeding for payment gateway as well as after making payment while booking tickets through internet.

7  Now users are allowed to book up to 12 tickets in a month, if users get themselves verified through their Aadhaar number along with at least one passenger also being verified through  Aadhaar. At the same time, no Aadhaar identification will be needed for booking up to six tickets in a month - it will continue to remain same. 

8 The booking window will be open between 8 am to 10 pm on the website. 

9 In case you plan to book a ticket, then it can be done one day in advance from actual date of journey. For example, if you plan to leave on April 15, then you must book tatkal ticket on April 14. 

10 Between 10:00 - 12: hours of tatkal ticket booking, a passenger can book only two tickets on a single user ID. Also only one tatkal ticket in single session is allowed except for return tickets. 

11 At the time of Tatkal ticket booking no need to furnish identity proof, Only one passenger needs to produce any one of the following proof of identity in the original during the journey. 

12 No duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued. Duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued only in exceptional cases on payment of full fare including Tatkal charges.

Therefore, eliminate the struggle of standing in line at the windows of Indian Railway stations and book your ticket online without any hussle. In case if you are new the IRCTC e-ticket booking, then here's how you can open an account and operate on the platform. 

• Register as an individual. Registration is FREE.
• Login by entering your user name and password.
• The "Plan my travel" page appears.
• If the From/To station selected by you are correct in the route of the train then :
• Select e-Ticket option.
• To find train list, click on "Submit" option.
• The List of Trains show the number of trains available for that route.
• To get the fare, click on class available in the selected train under "List of Trains". 
• To book tickets, click on "Book Now" button under availability option.
• Ticket reservation page appears; check whether the train name and the station names displayed on the top of the page are same as desired by you.
• The ticket details, availability of tickets at the particular time and the fare, including the service charge, appear on the screen, along with the payment option Follow the instructions.
• "Payment Option" Select the Payment Mode and Bank From the Drop Down List.
• Click on the "Make Payment" It redirect to selected Bank Site.
• After successful payment and booking of accommodations, the User is shown the ticket confirmation details along with a “Print Reservation Slip” Button. On clicking the button ERS is shown with an option to print.
• The customer can subsequently also print Electronic Reservation Slip from the 'BOOKED TICKETS' link on the left navigation bar.