Tatkal & Premium Tatkal

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.