Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation better known as ‘IRCTC’ that handles the catering, tourism & online ticketing operations for the Indian Railways has recently revamped or modified its website making the tickets booking process much easier for the public. IRCTC is said to be the ‘Lifeline of the nation’ with nearly 5, 50,000 to 6, 00,000 bookings on a daily basis.
The IRCTC ticket booking platform is very helpful as here you don’t need to stand in long queues at the railway stations’ booking counters. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation also offer a budget & deluxe package tours for local as well as foreign tourists.
Those who use or wish to use the IRCTC platform will have to follow these simple rules while booking their tickets on the official website:
1. Timings
The IRCTC website lets passenger book their journey ticket from 12.20 am to 11.45 pm in advance each day.
2. Payment Mode
Passengers can make the payments through all these modes - credit cards, debit cards, online banking, payment wallets & other similar services.
3. Concessions, if any
Yes, there is concession for the senior citizens, handicapped people and journalists. All of them will get some concession while booking their tickets.
4. Quotas
Passengers can book their tickets under various quotas provided by the Indian railways like general, senior citizen, handicapped, ladies, tatkal & premium tatkal. It must be noted that the tatkal tickets can be booked only at a particular time period before the start of the train’s journey.
5. Change in Ticket
If a person has to change his or her name on the ticket then they will have to go to the railway station booking counter. It will not be done on the IRCTC website.
6. Number of Tickets that can be booked
People can book 12 tickets in a month if they get themselves validated with the Aadhaar card. And without the Aadhaar verification, they can only book 6 tickets in a month.
7. Cancellation
Travelers can cancel their tickets under the section that says ‘Booked Tickets’. The reimburse amount of a cancelled ticket will be credited to the user’s account only after deducting cancellation charges.
8. Reservation
The passenger will receive an Electronic Reservation Slip along with original ID of one of the traveler travelling on a PNR. Through the PNR, a passenger will be able to check the status & timing of train and also position on the waiting list.
Happy Travelling !!!
