IRCTC Tatkal Ticket Booking timing, charges, cancellation rules: Indian Railways facility explained

IRCTC Tatkal Ticket Booking: Indian Railways offers Tatkal tickets for passengers who have to undertake a journey due to some emergency circumstance or who have failed to get a confirmed ticket. The railways has been improving its Tatkal ticketing system and policy to make it more convenient for the passengers and eliminate the touts. One of the world's largest public transporter had changed the timing of Tatkal ticket booking in 2015.

Tatkal Ticket Booking Timing
The Tatkal ticket window at the PRS counter as well as at through the IRCTC website irctc.co.in opens at 10 am while for non-AC classes, it starts at 11 am. The Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of the Tatkal scheme is reduced from two days to one day excluding the day of journey from the train originating station. For example, if a train is to depart from the originating station on the second of the month, the Tatkal quota booking for that particular train will open at 10:00 hrs for AC class (1A/2A/3A/CC/EC/3E) and at 11:00 hrs for Non- AC class (Sleeper/FC/2S) class on the first of the month from originating station.

Tatkal Ticket Booking Rules
1. Maximum of four passengers per PNR can be booked on Tatkal e-tickets.
2. Senior citizen concession is not allowed in Tatkal Quota
3. The maximum length of names should be restricted to 15 characters.

Tatkal Ticket Booking Charges
The Tatkal Charges have been fixed as a percentage of fare at the rate of 10% of basic fare for second class and 30% of basic fare for all other classes subject to minimum and maximum as given in the table below:

Tatkal Ticket Booking Cancellation Charges
1. No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets. Where a RAC ticket or wait-listed ticket is presented for cancellation, the refund of fare shall be made after deducting the clerkage (Rs 60+ GST) if the ticket is present for cancellation up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of the distance. 

2. In case of party tatkal ticket or family tatkal ticket issued for travel for more than one passenger, some passengers have confirmed reservation and others are on waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also subject to the condition that entire tatkal ticket is surrendered for cancellation up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.  

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3. If your RAC or waitlisted ticket has been confirmed till the time of the preparation of the chart, no refund will be granted on the cancellation of the ticket.