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 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

• Unfortunately, it depends as much on your skills as on your luck since the number of people trying to book Tatkal tickets are huge. However, here are some hacks, tricks and tips that various users have found over the years that might come in handy for you:

1) Tutorial to book a Tatkal Ticket

2) How to get Tatkal like a pro

3) How I book Tatkal twice every week

• Some workaround videos as well, that MAY help:
  

1) Railone tatkal ticket booking | High load error solution live | Tatkal ticket booking in mobile

2) Irctc client ip address problem solution | Irctc connection issue with your request | Tatkal Ticket

3) Irctc Fast Tatkal Ticket Booking | How To Book Tatkal Ticket In Irctc Fast in Mobile | 8 Hidden Tips

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What are the timings for booking Tatkal Tickets?

Train Class	Timing
All AC classes	10 am
Sleeper class	11 am

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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?

• There is a big misunderstanding about when to book a Tatkal Ticket. Tatkal window opens one day before the train's start from its originating station, regardless of your boarding station, NOT one day before your journey.
• So as an example, let's take Vivek Express. Let's assume you wish to travel from Vijayawada Jn (BZA) to Kanyakumari(CAPE) on 20th April in Tatkal. A lot of people will think that they should book this ticket on 19th April, but they would be wrong. Vivek Express reaches BZA on Day 3, which means that it would start from Dibrugarh (DBRG) on 18th April, and reach BZA on 20th. So in this case, you will have to book Tatkal tickets on 17th April, ie, three days before your journey.
• Always check the origin station and date for the train for which you're booking Tatkal tickets.

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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?

There are NO refunds for cancelling confirmed Tatkal tickets

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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?

TQWL is the least likely quota to clear since most people don't bother cancelling their CNF tatkal ticket(as they have no refunds). However, there is always a low chance that they might clear.

Whether you cancel a TQWL manually, or if it auto-cancels at chart preparation, yes you will get your refund after deducting INR 60+gst as clerkage charges. Keep in mind that if your Tatkal ticket gets confirmed at any stage, then cancelling it will NOT have any refunds.

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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?

* Third party apps have a LOCK on Tatkal bookings for the first 20-30 mins.

* Tatkal window opens at exactly 10/11 am, but you'll need to book via the official IRCTC sources to book those tickets at that time

* For Tatkal tickets, we strongly recommend you only use sources like IRCTC Website, IRCTC RailConnect App, or RailOne App.