Q: What does TQWL mean?
Ans: TQWL stands for Tatkal Quota waiting list. Indian railways used to issue CKWL for tatkal quota waiting list which it recently changed to TQWL. If tatkal ticket goes up, it directly gets confirmed and doesn’t go through RAC status unlike GNWL. During chart preparation, general waiting list (GNWL) is preferred over tatkal waiting list (TQWL) therefore tatkal waitlisted tickets are less likely to get confirmed.
Q: What is the fastest payment option on IRCTC to buy Tatkal tickets?
Ans: Booking tatkal ticket in indian railways is not an easy task. It is a race against time and a couple of seconds can make a difference between confirmed tatkal ticket and waiting one. Payment is a portion where many ticket bookings fail. If one is able to make fast and successful payments, then he or she has more chances of booking confirmed tatkal ticket. Now-a-days OTP verification has been made mandatory by IRCTC for ticket booking therefore one should keep his/her phone nearby to get the OTP sent to phone. The fastest mode of payment in such cases is using internet banking (preferable by HDFC or ICICI bank). Credit cards can be equally fast if one has already saved the credit card details.
Q: Is it allowed to travel in Indian Railways if we have a waiting list tatkal ticket?
Ans: Ideally, you should not travel in train on waiting list tickets. In premium trains such as rajdhani, shatabdi and duronto, the passengers having PRS waiting list ticket (ticket booked over-the-counter), if found, are fined and asked to deboard at the train’s next halt. In other trains, the TTE does not interfere and let you travel but still it is not advisable as it causes inconvenience to other passengers who have confirmed berths. Please do not board the train under any circumstances if you have a fully waitlisted e-ticket. It gets automatically cancelled on chart preparation and passenger is treated as traveling without ticket in such cases.
Q: Can my waiting list tatkal ticket get confirmed?
Ans: Tatkal waiting list ticket (TQWL) have least chances of confirmation. Therefore it is best not to rely upon tatkal waiting list tickets.
Q: Can we cancel a "Tatkal waiting list" ticket?
Ans: Yes, waiting list and RAC tickets of both general and tatkal quota can always be cancelled. A nominal clerkage fee of Rs.60 per passenger is deducted by railways and the remaining amount is returned back to the customer.
Q: What should I do if I have booked a confirmed tatkal ticket but I have to cancel my trip?
Ans: There are no refunds on cancellation of confirmed tatkal ticket i.e. where reservation of all passengers is confirmed. But, for some reason if you don’t want to undertake your journey in this case, you should still cancel your tickets. This ensures that some passengers in waitlisted status are confirmed and they are saved from the anxiety of waiting till the last moment for getting the final fate of their ticket. If you don’t cancel your ticket, then there's a chance that TTE will not take an impartial decision and allot your berth to someone undeserving but paying more money.
Q: Is there any possible way that I can get a tatkal ticket for sure online?
Ans: The procedure is same for everyone. Login to irctc website at 10am for booking in ac classes or at 11am for non-ac classes, a day before journey and fill in all the details as quickly as possible. There is no guarantee that you will be able to book a confirmed tatkal ticket. However, you can use some tips and tricks which increase your chances of getting confirmed ticket in tatkal quota.
Q: What is premium tatkal quota?
Ans: IRCTC introduced premium tatkal quota (PT) on October 1, 2014 on an experimental basis on 80 trains including Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani, August Kranti express, Vaishali express and Sapt Kranti express. Half of total tatkal berths will be sold under premium tatkal quota for such trains. It follows dynamic pricing which means that ticket price increases with demand. It can only be booked online. No waiting list and RAC tickets are issued under premium tatkal quota. Other rules for this quota are similar to tatkal quota such as no refund on cancellation of confirmed ticket.
Q: Can I get waiting list ticket in premium tatkal quota?
Ans: Neither waiting list nor RAC tickets are issued in premium tatkal quota. You can only book confirmed ticket.
Q: How much fare is charged for ticket booked under premium tatkal quota?
Ans: After booking of the first 50% of tatkal tickets under tatkal quota, the subsequent 50% tatkal tickets are sold on dynamic pricing under premium tatkal quota. Fares will increase by 20% after each slab of 10% berths are sold subject to the existing cap (maximum fare chargeable) on dynamic fare. So the premium tatkal fare is greater than tatkal fare but lesser than twice the tatkal fare.
Q: Can I cancel premium tatkal ticket?
Ans: No refunds are given on cancellation of tickets booked under premium tatkal quota. How ever, if for any reason you don’t undertake your journey it is better to cancel it.
Q: What does chart preparation in indian railways mean?
Ans: During chart preparation final seat allotment is done for all the passengers. Some waiting list tickets are confirmed. Berth and coach number is assigned to all passengers having final status as confirmed or RAC while fully waiting list e-tickets are automatically cancelled. Some passengers also get upgraded which means they get accommodation in higher class without paying any extra charge. Fully confirmed tickets cannot be canceled after chart preparation.
Q: When is charting done for a train in indian railways?
Ans: With effect from 12th November 2015, chart preparation will take place twice - once 4 hours before scheduled departure time of train while second and final chart will be prepared 30 minutes before the departure time. According to the revised rules, booking will be allowed on internet as well as at reservation counters for a particular train, subject to availability of berths, even after the preparation of first reservation chart. For trains originating early morning, charting can also be done at night. In case train is delayed, the chart may be prepared after the train’s scheduled departure time but before the actual depart time of the train.
Q: What to do if my name does not appear in chart?
Ans: If a passenger’s name does not appear in chart he or she should not board the train. This can happen if the passenger’s ticket did not get confirm. If your ticket is confirmed and still cannot find your name in the chart, then you might have done some mistake on your part such as looking at chart of wrong coach or while booking putting wrong train code or wrong date etc. One should consult the train TTE before boarding the train in such cases.
Q: If my reservation status is RAC, does it mean the seat has been confirmed? Does an RAC ticket get cleared when the chart is prepared?
Ans: RAC status means that you are entitled to a seat (half-berth) in the train. But mostly RAC tickets get confirmed on chart preparation wherein a full-berth is allotted to passenger.
Q: I have booked a ticket for Rajdhani / Duronto express which is RAC 25. Am I entitled to get any seat just like other trains, if the ticket is not confirmed?
Ans: If your ticket remains in RAC status on chart preparation, even then you can board the train. You will be allotted a half side-lower berth just like other trains.
Q: Is irctc e-ticket with RAC status considered a valid ticket or not? Are people allowed to travel on RAC tickets on Indian Railways?
Ans: Passengers having ticket in RAC status are considered having valid tickets. This is applicable to both tickets booked online (e-ticket) and tickets booked over the counter (PRS ticket). They are allowed to travel in train in such cases.
Q: What is the seat arrangement of a RAC ticket for a female passenger travelling alone?
Ans: The indian railway seat allocation systems tries to allocate seats together to two female passengers travelling alone and both having ticket in RAC status. But there it is not guaranteed and there have been instances when a female RAC passenger is allotted a seat with a male RAC passenger. In such cases, one can search for other female passenger having similar scenario and then they can exchange their seats so that both the female passengers share same berth. If such arrangement is not possible, the one should ask TTE to solve the problem. The TTE can either confirm the seat or can pair with female RAC ticket holder in other coaches having same problem.
Q: What does RLWL13 / WL10 and GNWL20 / WL15 in Indian Railway Reservation mean?
Ans: If the status is RLWL13 / WL10, then this means that you have a current remote location waiting list of 10 (the latter number). The difference between the two (13 - 10 = 3 in this case) means that 3 passengers who booked before you have already cancelled their ticket. Your ticket will get confirmed only if 10 passengers who have booked before you for the same journey happen to cancel their journey. Same is the case with GNWL20/15 except that it is general waiting list. Similarly, GNWL/AVAILABLE means that current status of your ticket is CONFIRMED because some passengers who booked before you have cancelled their tickets.
Q: One passenger gets a confirmed ticket and other passengers on the same ticket remain waitlisted (WL 1) after chart preparation. Are we allowed to board the train?
Ans: If at least one passenger’s status is confirmed (full berth) or RAC (half berth), then all passengers on this ticket are allowed to board the train even if some of them are in waitlisted status. So you can board the train in this case.
Q: If the ticket booked online on IRCTC has a WL (waiting list) status, does it get automatically cancelled if it doesn't get confirmed?
Ans: Yes, the tickets booked online by irctc website get cancelled automatically if all passengers on the ticket remain waitlisted even after preparation of chart. This is applicable for both general and tatkal quota.
Q: In Indian Railways, can I board trains like rajdhani even if my status is not confirmed?
Ans: One should not board the train if the ticket is in waiting list status for all passengers on the ticket. Normally, the TTE allows passengers with PRS waiting ticket (counter ticket in waiting list status). But in premium trains like rajdhani, shatabdi and duronto, the TTE takes strict actions against those having waitlisted ticket. If found they may be penalized and are made to deboard the train at the next station.
Q: My PNR status is showing booking status WL18, PQWL, and current status is showing 'confirmed,' but berth details are missing. Did my ticket get confirm?
Ans: Yes your ticket is confirmed as is mentioned in the current status field. Berth details will be provided to you upon chart preparation which is usually done a few hours before train depart time.
Q: Which waiting list is cleared first GNWL, TQWL, RLWL, RSWL, RQWL or PQWL? Can RLWL status tickets get confirmed easily?
Ans: GNWL stands for General Waiting List and has the highest chances of confirmation. RLWL and RSWL are given for remote stations so very few seats are allotted under them. Due to lesser seats they have lesser chances of confirmation than GNWL. PQWL is Pooled Quota Waiting List and covers those stations not covered under general or remote location quotas. PQWL and RQWL have the least chances of confirmation. TQWL or tatkal waiting list has lesser chances of confirmation than GNWL for same origin-destination pair.
