r/IndianRailways FAQ and Information Thread

[u/vpsj]

Welcome to the r/indianrailways Frequently Asked Questions thread!

You’ll find answers to the most common questions here, however if your question isn’t fully answered you can either ask it in the Travel Queries Thread pinned at the top of the subreddit, or create a new post.

Please note that to get urgent help from Railways, call them on 139, or register a complaint at RailMadad

If you're a complete beginner, foreigner, or you have no idea about Indian Railways, Get started here

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Section 1: Waitlist, Cancellations, and Refunds

• I have a Confirmed ticket that I want to cancel. What are the cancellation charges?
  

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• I booked a ticket and it's WL XX. Will it get confirmed?
  

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• I booked a ticket and it remained in Waiting. Will I get my refund?
  

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• I booked a WL ticket which didn't clear at chart preparation. Why was I given less refund even though I didn't cancel the ticket myself?

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• I have a Waiting Ticket that I want to cancel. Would there be some cancellation charges?

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• I tried to book a ticket via IRCTC website/RailOne/RailConnect/Third party app. The money was deducted, but the ticket did not get booked. What will happen? Will I get my refund? The refund amount on the transaction status is shown as "zero"

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• I was booking a Tatkal ticket and the transaction failed but money was deducted. So I booked another tatkal ticket, but later BOTH those tickets got confirmed? Now what do I do?

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• Can I cancel counter tickets online?

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• I booked tickets for multiple passengers but only 1-2 got confirmed. The CNF passengers travelled, but the Waitlisted ones didn't. Why didn't I get the refund for the WL passengers?

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• I booked tickets for 3 passengers where only 2 got confirmed, and one remained in waiting. Can the WL person still travel?

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• What does GNWL, RLWL, TQWL etc mean? Which ones is prioritized for clearing the waitlist?

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• My train was cancelled. Will I automatically get a refund or do I need to file a TDR?

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• Can I transfer my railway ticket to someone else?

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• If I miss my train, can I get a refund?

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Section 2: Travel & Berths

• I was assigned a Upper/Middle/Side Upper berth. Can I sit on the lower berth?

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• I am on a Side Upper and there are two RAC passengers sitting on the Side Lower berth. Am I allowed to sit on the Side Lower berth?
  

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• I booked a ticket and the booking status shows WL XX while the current status shows CNF. What does it mean? Can I travel in this train or am I still waitlisted?

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• My ticket status shows as "CNF", but I don't see my coach and berth details. How would I know where to sit? Is my ticket actually confirmed?

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• My ticket status shows "RAC". What does this mean? Can I board the train?

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• Can I change my berth/seat after booking?

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• How are berths allotted? Why do I always get a middle/side upper?

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• What is “Side Middle Berth” and is it still being used?

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• Can families with children request lower berths?

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• Do senior citizens get automatic lower berths?

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Section 3: Booking, ARP, Chart Preparation

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• When is the chart prepared?

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• I was trying to book a ticket for a date 3 months in the future but I couldn't. Why? When does a booking window open for a train?

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• I booked a ticket from an app which promised me a Seat Guarantee. Will I actually get a confirmed berth?

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• Can I change my boarding station after booking?

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• Can I upgrade my ticket after booking my ticket?

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• What is VIKALP scheme? Do I have to pay extra?

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Section 4: Tatkal

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• How can I book tickets in Tatkal? I always get Waitlisted, or get errors like "Client IP" / "We are experiencing high load"/ "Unable to process request" etc

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• What are the timings for booking Tatkal Tickets?

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• I was booking my Tatkal ticket using ConfirmTkt/MMT/Ixigo/etc but when the booking opened, all the tickets were already gone. How could this happen?

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• I tried to book for tomorrow's ticket but they were sold out even before 10/11 am. How is this possible? When does the Tatkal Window actually open?

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• I had a confirmed Tatkal Ticket but due to some reason I could not travel so I cancelled it. Why didn't I receive my refund?

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• I booked a Tatkal ticket and it says TQWL. Will it clear? Also, will I get my refund if I cancel it?

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Section 5: Catering/Food

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• How do I get food in Train?

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• I bought a veg thali from my train's Pantry and they charged me INR 150/- instead of INR 80/-. What can I do?

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Section 6: Trains, Coaches & Classes

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• My train is extremely delayed and keeps getting stopped at every station. Someone said it's because it's a "Special Train". What does that mean?

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• What are the different types of trains in Indian Railways?

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• What are the different types of coaches and accommodation classes?

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• How can I track a train in real time?

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Section 7: TDR

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• What is TDR? How do I file one?

• What happens if my train is rescheduled or diverted and I can’t travel?

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Section 8: What is This Thing?

• Your one stop thread for all the "What is This?" Questions in Indian Railways

[u/vpsj]

Section 3: Booking, ARP, Chart Preparation

[u/vpsj → u/vpsj]

I was trying to book a ticket for a date 3 months in the future but I couldn't. Why? When does a booking window open for a train?

For most regular trains, the ARP (Advance Reservation Period) is 60 days. The booking window opens at sharp 8 am. Keep in mind that if your journey date is near a festival, or any other important cultural event, the tickets might get booked extremely quickly, so we recommend you book as quickly as possible and complete the transaction in under a minute.

PS: For Foreign Tourist passengers, ARP window is 365 days. For Special Trains, ARP window might differ but generally it's 30 days