IRCTC train ticket reservation new rules

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)  portal www.irctc.co.in has the inflow of thousands of users every day. These new changes in rules  will bring about a better experience for the passenger

Here are the new rules:

1. A passenger can book tickets 120 days in advance, excluding the day of travel. He/she can book at max 6 tickets in a month, and 12 if Aadhar-verified. A maximum of 2 tickets is allowed for booking in the 8-10 am slot.
2. Tatkal tickets can be booked a day before travel. The time slot starts at 10 am for AC coaches and at 11 am for sleeper coaches.
3. For a single user, only 2 Tatkal ticket is allowed in the respective Tatkal ticket booking slot.
4. In case of Tatkal bookings, a maximum of six berths/seats can be booked at a time for a specified journey between any two stations served by the train subject to distance restrictions in force.
5. Only one Tatkal tickets can be booked per session; except for the return journey.
6. Quick book services are allowed in between 8 am to 12 noon. A user can only have one login at a time
7. Authorized travel agents are not allowed to book tickets in the first half hour after online reservation starts. Hence, they cannot book from 8-8.30 am, 10-10.30 am, and 11-11.30 am. This will facilitate passengers in booking tickets for themselves.
8. Ticket booking has become time sensitive now. This means a maximum of 25 seconds is allotted for a single session. Also, a maximum of 5 seconds is given to enter Captcha.
9. For payment through net-banking, the user has to identify himself/herself through OTP (One Time Password).
10. A user can apply for refund only in the following scenarios:

• If the train doesn’t depart from station three hours after the scheduled departure time.
• If the train’s route has been changed and the passenger doesn’t want to travel on that route.
• If a passenger has been moved to a lower class than what the ticket was booked for, and the passenger doesn’t want to travel in lower class. If the passenger does want to travel in the lower class, he/she will be paid the difference.

IRCTC has also allowed passengers to transfer a confirmed ticket to their close family members. If it is not feasible for them to travel for some reason. The ticket can be transferred to the passenger’s father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, and wife.