Reservation of tatkal tickets to start from 10 am

From July 10, reservation of tatkal tickets will start from 10 am instead of 8 am and no authorised agents will be allowed to book them during the first two hours, Railways today said
'Railways have decided that from July 10 booking of tatkal ticket will start at 10 am on the previous day of journey from train originating station instead of 8 am at present,' said a Railways statement.
The move is being initiated as part of revamping the tatkal scheme amid increased complaints from passengers about touts making good of the loopholes in the schemes and selling tatkal tickets at a premium.
Railways officials felt the development will not only help reduce pressure on counters booking both general and tatkal tickets at the same time, but will also reduce the waiting time of tatkal ticket seekers with the shrinking of the crowd.
The pressure on the e-ticketing site would also reduce considerably. At present, booking for both general and tatkal tickets open at 8 am, not only chocking e-ticketing sites but also triggering to long queues in reservation counters.
Officials said separate tatkal booking counters will also be opened soon and CCTV cameras installed to monitor the crowd to check irregularities.
Booking clerks will also be barred from carrying mobiles inside the counters, they said.
At present, tatkal scheme is available in around 2677 trains which translates to around 1.71 lakh berths. In 2011-12, earning from the scheme stood at Rs 847 crore.
The scheme has seen a several changes in the recent past including reducing the days for reserving tatkal tickets from five to one day and barring web-based agents from booking tickets during the first hours, but the indulgence of the touts has deprived passengers from deriving the benefit of the scheme, officials noted.

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Facilities for International Tourist

The International Tourist Bureaus are located at various important cities all over India. In Northern Railway these are at the following locations :

KOLKATA CHENNAI BANGALORE AHMEDABAD SECUNDERABAD JAIPUR JODHPUR VARANASI NEW DELHI AGRA-CANTT. MUMBAI

New Delhi & Varanasi offices are known as International Tourist Bureau. International Tourist Bureau at New Delhi functions from 08:00hrs to 20:00hrs from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday from 08:00hrs to 14:00hrs. These provide assistance to the foreign tourists and NRIs regarding enquiries, booking, reservation and travel planning etc. International Tourist Bureaus issue reserved tickets to the Foreign Tourists and NRIs holding valid passport against payment in US dollars, Pounds, Sterling,Euros and indian Rupees. These Bureaus also sell Indrail passes which are issued to foreign tourists / NRIs on production of valid passport and valid visa.Indrail pass entitles the pass holder to travel as he likes over the entire Indian Railways with out any route restriction within the period of validity of IRP. Indrail pass however, does not guaranty reserved accommodation. The fares of Indian rail Passes are in US dollars. The important rules are printed on the Indrail passes. The foreign tourists can also purchase Indian rail passes from the General Sales Agents appointed abroad and Rail Travel Agents appointed in India. A separate foreign tourist quota has been provided in all classes and almost all the trains for the facility of the tourists. A tourist can obtain reservations against Indrail passes from any reservation office over Indian Railways. For getting any clarifications regarding use of Indrail passes and facilities to the foreign tourists, the passengers should contact at : International Tourist Bureau, First Floor, Station Building, New Delhi Railway Station, New Delhi- 110055 Phone : 91-11-42625156, Fax: 91-11-23343050

INDRAIL PASS :

To explore the splendor of multi-faceted India, Indrail Passes provide excellent value and enhances the charm of holidays from abroad. Indrail Passes offer visitors on a budget, the facility of travel as they like, over the entire Indian Railways system, without any route restriction within the period of validity of the Indrail Pass. These passes can only be purchased by foreign nationals and NRIs on payment of U.S. Dollars ($), Pound Sterling (£ ) , Euro. The pass holder is not required to pay any reservation fee, super fast charges or surcharge for the journey. The Indrail passes have been made more attractive for transit and short stay visitors. The passes are now also available for half day(12 hrs.), one day (24 hrs.),two days (48 hrs.) and four days for the facility of visitors arriving by international flights and visiting only one or two connecting destinations. Indrail passes are sold through General Sales Agents abroad at Oman, Malaysia, UK, Germany, UAE,Germany,Nepal & Indian Airlines overseas outlets at Kuwait, Bahrain and Columbo. Certain recognized Travel agents are also authorized to sell these passes in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai.

Period of Validity and Fare Structure (Fares in U.S. dollars) Period of validity AC Class First Class/ AC 2/3 Tier/ AC Chair Car Sleeper Class/ Second Class (Non - AC) Adult Child Adult Child Adult Child ½ day* (12 hrs.) 57 29 26 13 11 6 1 day* (24 hrs.) 95 47 43 22 19 10 2 day* (48 hrs.) 160 80 70 35 30 15 4 day* 220 110 110 55 50 25 7 day 270 135 135 68 80 40 15 day 370 185 185 95 90 45 21 day* 396 198 198 99 100 50 30 day* 495 248 248 126 125 65 60 day* 800 400 400 200 185 95 90 day* 1060 530 530 265 235 120

LIST OF AUTHORIZED GSAS :

S. No. Name Phone/Fax/e-mail 1 M/s National Travel and Tourism, P.O. Box 962, PC 113 Muttrah, Muscat, Sultanate-of-Oman Phone No. 009685666046 Fax No. 00968566125 email nttmbd@gmail.com 2 M/s city East West Travels, 23 Jalan Yapah Shak 50300, Kualalumpur, Malaysia Phone No. 0060326910903 Fax No. 0060326919829 email cewtrvl@hotmail.com 3 M/s S.D. Enterprises Ltd, 103, Wembley Park Drive, Wembley HA 98 HG, Midllx. (England) U.K. Phone No. 001819033411 Fax No. 00442089030392 email info@indianrail.co.uk 4 M/s Asra Orient, Kaisertrasse 50, D-60329, Frankfurt/ AM, Main Germany Phone No. 069253098 Fax No. 004969232045 email asra-orient@t-online.de 5 M/s.Sharjah National Travels & Tourist Agency Pvt. Ltd. P.O. Box. 17 Sharjah U.A.E Phone No. 0097165517468 Fax No. 0097165683535 email andavu@sntta.ae 6 Orient Paradise Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd. GSA of Indian Railway in Nepal Chalkhal,Dillibazar Kathmandu, Nepal Phone No. 00977-1-4428462 Fax No. 00977-1-4437990 Email: railwaysticket@kldugargroup.com dugarnp@mos.com.np 7 (i) Indian Airlines Ltd. No. 4,Briston Complex, Bton Street, Columbo. Phone No. 00941323136 Fax No. 00941445534 (ii) Indian Airlines Ltd. M/s Dadabhai Travels , P.O Bo.387, Bahrain. Phone No. 00973223181 Fax No. 00973210191 email dadabhai@batelco.com.bh (iii) Indian Airlines. AL. Hilaliah Bldg. Alsoor street . P.O.Box.594. Safat 13006. State of Kuwait. Phone No. 009652456700 Fax No. 009652434700.

Railway Claims and Refunds

For claims and refunds referred to website : http://www.claims.indianrail.gov.in/  Click to Go

Tatkal Scheme by Indian railway | Rules for Tatkal tickets

As per announcement made in the Railway Budget 2013-14, It has been decided to revise Tatkal Charges as given below. The Tatkal Charges have been fixed as a percentage of fare at the rate of 10% of basic fare for second class and 30% of basic fare for all other classes subject to minimum and maximum as given in the table below. Class of Travel Minimum Tatkal Charges (in Rs.) Maximum Tatkal Charges (in Rs.) Second (sitting) 10.00 15.00 Sleeper 90.00 175.00 AC Chair Car 100.00 200.00 AC 3 Tier 250.00 350.00 AC 2 Tier 300.00 400.00 Executive 300.00 400.00 The above charges will be levied uniformly both in peak period & non-peak periods. Tatkal tickets will be issued for actual distance of travel, instead of end-to-end, subject to the distance restriction applicable to the train. The same Tatkal berth/seat may be booked in multiple legs till preparation of charts. At the time of preparation of charts, unutilized portion may be released to the General RAC/Waiting list passengers. Tatkal facility is also available in Executive Class of Shatabadi Express trains also, by earmarking 10% of the accommodation available i.e. 5 seats per coach. Tatkal booking opens at  10 AM on One days in advance  actual date of journey excluding date of journey w.e.f. of 10.07.2012(commercial circular no:43 of 2012). e.g. for train leaving on 6th, Tatkal Booking will Commence at 10 AM on 5th. No duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued. Duplicate Tatkal tickets shall be issued only in exceptional cases on payment of full fare including Tatkal charges. Tatkal tickets shall be issued only on production of one of the ten prescribed proofs of identity shown under (as mentioned in Commercial Circular No.68 of 2012 issued vide letter No.2011/TG-I/20/P/ID dated 01.11.2012) as per procedure explained below:- 1.Voter Photo identity card issued by Election Commision of India. 2.Passport 3.PAN Card issued by Income Tax Department. 4.Driving Licence issued by RTO. 5.Photo identity card having serial number issued by Central/State Government. 6.Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/College for their students. 7.Nationalized Bank Passbok with photograph. 8.Credit cards issued by banks with laminated photograph. 9.Unique Identification Card "Aadhaar". 10.Photo identity cards having serial number issued by Public Sector Undertaking of State/Central Government, District Administration, Municipal bodies and Penchant Administration. a. For this purpose, a self attested photo copy of the proof of identity of anyone passenger shall be attached to the requisition slip. b. The details of the identity proof shall be captured by the system and indicated on the reserved tickets as well on the reservation chart. c. It will not be mandatory for the passenger(s) to go to the counter to book the Tatkal ticket, however, the proof will have to be sent in the aforementioned manner. d. During the journey, the passenger, whose identity card number has been indicated on the ticket, will have to produce original proof of identity indicated on the ticket, failing which all the passengers booked on the ticket shall be treated as traveling without ticket and charged accordingly. Indication will come on the ticket regarding carrying the same original proof of identity during the journey, as indicated on the ticket. e. If the passenger whose identity card number is indicated on the ticket is not traveling, all other passengers booked on that ticket, if foundtraveling in train, will be treated as traveling without ticket and charged accordingly. Agents / RTSAs/Web service agents/Web agents of IRCTC are restricted from the booking Tatkal tickets between 1000 hours and 1200 hours. This restriction shall be enforced through frequent inspection at the counters. The agents both web service agents and web agents shall also be restricted from booking Tatkal tickets on the internet between 1000 hours and 1200 hours. Even for internet booking for Tatkal tickets, the passenger shall enter the identity proof type and number, which is to be used for travel. These details shall be printed on the ERS/indicated on the VRM/MRM as well as in the reservation chart. It will be possible to book a maximum of only four passengers per PNR forTatkal tickets. The web services agents of IRCTC will be permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day on the internet. The facility of change of name is not permitted on the bookings made under Tatkal scheme TDRs are not being issued for waiting list tickets. REFUNDS   - No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets/duplicate tatkal ticket except in case of circumstances mentioned in para 2 of instructions contained in Commercial Circular no. 53 of 2006 issued vide letter no. 2006/TGII/ 20/P/Tatkal, dated 30.06.2006. However, full refund of fare and tatkal charges will be granted on the tickets booked under Tatkal scheme in the following circumstances :- If the train is delayed by more than 3 hours at the journey originating point of the passenger & not the boarding point if the passenger's journey originating point and boarding point are different. If the train is to run on a diverted route and passenger is not willing to travel. If the train is to run on diverted route and boarding station or the destination or both the stations are not on the diverted route. In case of non attachment of coach in which Tatkal accommodation has been earmarked and the passenger has not been provided  accommodation in the same class. If the party has been accommodated in lower class and does not want to travel. In case the party travels in lower class, the passenger will be given refund of difference of fare and also the difference of Tatkal charges, if any.

Change in the Name of Passenger Holding Confirmed Reservation

1. Save as otherwise, a berth or a seat reserved in the name of a person shall be used only by the person and shall not be transferable to any other person.

2. Chief Reservation Supervisor of important stations are authorized by Railway Administration to permit the change of name of a passenger having a seat or berth reserved in his name in the following circumstances namely :
(a) Where the passenger is a Government Servant, proceeding on duty and appropriate authority, makes a request in writing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of trains
(b) Where the passenger makes a request in writing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train that the reservation made in his name may be transferred to another member of his family, meaning, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Husband and Wife.
(c) Where the passengers are students of a recognized educational institution and the Head of the institution makes a request in writing 48 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, that the reservation made in the name of any student be transferred to any other student of the same institute.
(d) Where the passengers are members of a marriage party and any person deemed to be Head of such party makes a request in writing 48 hours before the scheduled departure of the train that the reservation made in the name of any member of the marriage party be transferred to any other person.
(e) Where the passengers are a group of cadets of National Cadet Corps and any officer who is the head of the group, makes a request in writing at least 24 hours before the departure of the train that the reservation made in the name of any cadet be transferred to any other cadet.

Such request will be granted only once. Regarding item no. (c), (d) and (e), such request for change in excess of 10% of the total strength of group shall not be granted.

Circular Journey Tickets

GENERAL INFORMATION :

If you wish to go on a pilgrimage or sightseeing trip to many destinations, Indian Railways provides the facility of booking Circular Journey Tickets. These tickets offer you unique travel flexibility, as they are issued for all journeys (other than regular routes), which begin and complete at the same station. Circular journey Tickets can be purchased for all classes of travel. A maximum of eight break journeys will be admissible on these tickets. Standard Circular Journey Tickets are also offered by Zonal Railways. These cover popular destinations for the Convenience of tourists. The details of route, fare etc., for these tickets can be obtained from nominated stations in each Zonal Railway. You can purchase these tickets if any one of the standard routes suits your convenience. Otherwise you can inform the Zonal Railways about your itinerary and Circular Journey Tickets can be drawn up to suit your requirements.

ADVANTAGES OF BOOKING A CIRCULAR JOURNEY TICKET : 

Circular Journey Tickets give you the benefit of telescopic rates, which are considerably lower than regular point to point fare. With these tickets, you not only save time but also the inconvenience of booking ticket at each leg of the journey.

BOOKING PROCEDURE OF CIRCULAR JOURNEY TICKET :

1.   Once your itinerary is finalized, you can approach the Divisional Commercial Manager of  the Division of certain major stations to which the journey commencing station belongs. The Divisional Commercial Manager or the station authorities will then calculate the cost of the tickets based on your itinerary. He will also inform the Station Manager of the same in a prescribed format. 2.  You can purchase Circular Journey Tickets by presenting this form at the Booking Office of the station where you propose to start your journey. After purchasing the Circular Journey Ticket, you must approach the Reservation Office to reserve your accommodation for various laps of your journey. You will then be issued reserved journey ticket for the journey. 3.  No Standard Circular Journey Tickets are issued by Southern Railways, only non-standard Circular Journey Tickets as per the itenary given by the passengers are issued by the Southern Railways. A Circular Journey Ticket is charged for as two single journeys, the length of each single journey being taken as half of the total distance. 4.  40% concession for male Senior Citizens and 50% concession for female Senior Citizens are granted on the cost of the Circular Journey Tickets when travelling a minimum distance of 1000 kms.

Standard Circular Journey Tour Tickets Over Northern Railway Standard Circular Journey Tour Tickets Over South Central Railway Standard Circular Journey Tour Tickets Over Central Railway Fares Of Standard Circular Tour Tickets