How to Book Train Ticket Online, IRCTC Ticket Booking

Today I will show you how to book train ticket online using IRCTC Ticket Booking portal. If you would like to book train ticket from home then you can read this post.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) online train ticket booking facility allows individuals book tickets for immediate travel plans or planned travels. One can book train ticket online using IRCTC website or its IRCTC Rail Connect mobile app.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to book train ticket online using IRCTC ticket booking app. You don’t need to stand in long and unending queues to book your train ticket, simply follow the instructions given in this tutorial to get a confirmed ticket even tatkal one.

IRCTC ticket booking procedure is very easy and mostly you can get a confirmed ticket.

IRCTC has been doing slog over to provide confirmed train tickets to all passengers but as you know that everyday millions of people use trains therefore it’s very difficult task to provide confirmed ticket to everyone.

However, it provides tatkal ticket booking facility for immediate travel plans. But it offers very limited seats under this facility. And many a times IRCTC app fails to provide confirmed tatkal ticket to all passengers.

Let’s come back to the point, it is very easy to book train ticket using IRCTC app or website. All you have to do is just register yourself on IRCTC portal and then follow the simple steps to book your train ticket.

Before that, I would like to tell you that IRCTC has also started premium tatkal ticket booking facility; which is only for individuals and travel agents cannot use this facility. There are lots of probabilities that you’ll get confirmed tatkal ticket using premium tatkal facility.

Here are some important things that you should know before knowing online train ticket booking procedure:

• At a time, you can book train tickets for up to 6 people.
• If you book waiting list ticket or unreserved ticket and at the day of travel if your ticket doesn’t get confirmed then you will not be allowed to travel and your money will automatically refunded back to your bank account.
• Unlike offline train ticket booking which has timing slots for booking, on IRCTC online train ticket booking portal you can book tickets anytime, anywhere.
• IRCTC tatkal ticket timings are: 10:00 AM (For AC) and 11:00 AM (For Non-AC).
• There is no guarantee that you will get confirmed tatkal ticket. It depends upon IRCTC train ticket availability.

How to book train ticket online using IRCTC app

IRCTC Rail Connect app is a convenient way IRCTC ticket booking. User who have registered themselves on the app can open it and book tickets for up to 6 people.

For that purpose, first you will need to install IRCTC app from your phone’s app store like Google Play Store or App Store. After installing the app, complete IRCTC registration. Read this post how to create IRCTC account.

Important: Tatkal ticket timings are 10:00 and 11:00 for AC and Non-AC respectively. Therefore, try to book tatkal ticket after/in-between the mentioned time.

After creating an account on IRCTC portal, login using your user ID and password.

From the homepage, tap on ‘Plan My Journey’.

Enter your boarding point by tapping on ‘From’ and destination point by tapping on ‘To’ and select your journey date in ‘Departure Date’ section. Tick box next to ‘Flexible with Date’. Subsequently, tap on ‘Search Trains’.

Note: You can tick box next to ‘I’ll book in special concession’ if you’re booking ticket for senior citizen or physically challenged person.

Upon tapping on Search Trains, you will get a list of trains that are available. Tap on a suitable train and then select a class SL/ 3A/2A/1A to see IRCTC train ticket availability. In above screenshot, there’re 13 seats available, similarly if you can see green text then it means seats are available.

To book train ticket online, tap on radio button next to date you want book ticket for and then tap on ‘Go to Passenger Details’.

Now, tap on ‘Add New’ under ‘Add Passenger’ section and add details of first passenger like name, age, gender etc and then hit ‘Add Passenger’ button. Similarly, repeat the procedure to add more passengers.

After adding the passengers, swipe down and select your preferred payment method. Then, tap on ‘Review Journey Details’.

Next, scroll down and enter captcha text showing on the image in given field.

Okay! We’re about to book the ticket. Tap on one payment method, I’m going to select ‘Multiple Payment Options’.

Again, pick one payment gateway to book train ticket online. I’m selecting ‘IRCTC iPay’.

Now, enter your ATM or credit card details like number, expiry date, CVV number (see last 3 digits under black strip or click here to know how to find CVV number on ATM or Credit card) to make payment and then tap on Proceed to Pay.

Next, a one time password will be sent to your mobile number registered with the card. Enter the OTP and confirm the same.

That’s it IRCTC ticket booking is done. You will be able to see your train ticket copy, tap on Save Ticket to save it to your phone’s gallery and you will also receive your PNR status details through an SMS.

In above instructions, I have shown you how to book train ticket online using IRCTC Ticket Booking portal. If you’re facing any problem then feel free to ask in comment box.