When it comes to a trip what’s the biggest headache? It’s getting a confirmed ticket, especially when there is high demand for train tickets. Right? Normally you have to get your ticket confirmed in advance but with IRCTC Tatkal Ticket Booking service you can book your ticket at last moment. Still, there are a fixed irctc tatkal booking timings so you have to confirm your ticket at that time only. Yet, it’s not that easy to get a ticket with tatkal as there is a lot of hype and demand for last moment ticket booking with irctc so you have to try hard to get your ticket.
However, you will have to pay little more than what your pays for a ticket, normally. But in return, you get a confirmed train ticket online. If you prefer, you can also get tatkal ticket offline as well as online. Every day, there is huge rush during tatkal booking timings because so many peoples trying for a confirmed ticket. The reason, behind this, is simple, the ticket cost is reasonable and can be booked just one day before the journey so there is no better option available for you when there is an urgency of the ticket or you have planned your trip on last moment.
Just to let you know there is two type of bookings available under tatkal services of irctc, one is Normal Tatkal which is reasonable in cost while another one is premium tatkal which is little costlier than a normal one. We will talk more about both of the types and tatkal ticket booking time in this post. The Tatkal booking is based on “First Come-First Serve Basis” so the one who is faster while booking ticket will get the ticket confirmed.
Tatkal Ticket Timings 2021
IRCTC Tatkal booking service is started by IRCTC to help passengers who are in need to get a confirmed ticket at last moment. As the name suggests it’s different the normal ticket booking system and bookings open for few hours daily.
As per the rules of irctc you can book your tatkal ticket one day prior to the date of your journey. Which means this service is only for tatkal booking, you can’t reserve your tickets for a long time.
Just to be more clear, the booking window is open for you if your train starts the next day of your booking. This means if you have to travel on 10th July then you will have to book tickets on 9th July at the booking time as per tatkal booking timings 2021. The same goes for other dates.
As it’s clear now that there is a fixed time for Tatkal booking so now we will discuss the timings. The booking is open for two hours daily as per the type of ticket you are booking. AC Class timing is different than Tatkal Timing for sleeper class.
| Booking Type | Timings |
|---|---|
| AC Class | 10 AM |
| Sleeper Class | 11 AM |
Note: Tatkal Ticket Booking time can be changed anytime.
So as per above table, the bookings for AC Class tickets start at 10 AM while Sleeper class tickets can be booked from 11 AM. Both of the bookings start one day prior to the day you are booking.
The booking time we have mentioned above is latest updated for 2021 and it applies to online booking as well as offline bookings. It means it doesn’t matter whether you are booking a tatkal ticket online or offline, time will be same for both of the situations.
Tatkal Booking Timings For Agents
The booking timings for agents are a little different and starts a little early for them. You can get your confirmed ticket from agents which will make you free from the hassle of booking a tatkal ticket but, you will have to pay a slightly higher amount for agents as their charges. So here is Tatkal Booking time for agents explained through a table.
| Booking Type | Timings |
|---|---|
| General Bookings | 8 AM |
| Tatkal AC Class | 10.30 AM |
| Tatkal Sleeper Class | 11.30 AM |
The time for agents starts at 8 AM Itself if they are booking a General Quota ticket. The timings are different for agents also. Means, the timings depends on the type of ticket you are going. By looking at above table you must have got an idea how tatkal bookings work.
So, in simple words, If you are booking an AC tatkal then you have to be ready at 10.30 AM. But, for sleeper class tickets booking starts at 11.30 AM and general tickets can be booked at 8 AM itself.
Tatkal Ticket Charges
When you book a Tatkal ticket instead of a normal ticket, you will have to pay some extra charges for it. The charges vary as per the type of booking and the distance.
However, you are just going to be charged extra but, it is not much costly. For second sitting, charges are just Rs.10 which increases up to Rs.15. Moreover, extra charges apply only to booking ticket of a distance of 100 KM or more.
You can find complete information about tatkal tickets charges in below table. In case, you are looking for Tatkal ticket booking time then you can scroll up to know the updated info.
| Class of travel | Minimum Tatkal charges (in Rs.) | Tatkal Charges (On Base Fare) | Maximum Tatkal charges (in Rs.) | Minimum distance for charge (in km) |
| Second (sitting) | 10 | 10% | 15 | 100 |
| Sleeper | 100 | 30% | 200 | 500 |
| AC Chair Car | 125 | 30% | 225 | 250 |
| AC 3 Tier | 300 | 30% | 400 | 500 |
| AC 2 Tier | 400 | 30% | 500 | 500 |
| Executive | 400 | 30% | 500 | 250 |
Tatkal Ticket Booking Time, Details
- Tatkal ticket booking starts at 10 AM, a day before the journey for AC & General class
- For Sleeper class, tatkal booking starts at 11 AM
- Maximum 4 passengers can be booked per PNR
- Tatakal charges are in addition to normal tickets
- There is no concession allowed in Tatkal booking
- Modification of tatkal ticket is not permitted
- No refund will be provided for canceled tatkal ticket
Type Of Tatkal Ticket
- Normal Tatkal
- Premium Tatkal
(Premium Tatkal is more costly than normal tatkal and available more easily.)
The above post contains all the information on IRCTS Tatkal along with Tatkal Booking Timings 2021 so you can get the complete information easily. I will keep the content updated with latest timings for sleeper class, ac & other types.
can we book premime tatkal around railway counters
What is the Tatkal date for a train starts at origin on today and m i am boarding on this train tomorrow on en route?
or other words is the Tatkal open the day before it starts from the origin or from my journey date?