Tatkal scheme
The Tatkal Scheme is an Indian Railways scheme for booking journeys at very short notice. It was introduced by the then railway minister Nitish Kumar in all forms of reserved class in almost all the Mail/ Express trains in India.
Contents
Features
These tickets can be booked over the counter and on the internet through the website of IRCTC.
- Ticket booking under Tatkal scheme opens at 10 am on the date previous to the date of the journey from the train-originating station (i.e., one day before). However, the day of the journey is defined as the day of chart preparation. So, if the train starts, say, on the 3rd, and reaches the desired boarding station on the 4th. \ during the actual journey.[1][2]
- 10 AM is the booking starting time for AC seats and 11 AM for SLEEPER seats.
- There are no separate trains defined as Tatkal trains. Non-utilized Tatkal tickets are released to wait-listed passengers. Confirmed tatkal tickets can be cancelled but no refunds will be provided. But, wait-listed tatkal tickets can be cancelled with refunds.
- In those trains and in those classes where average utilization of Tatkal accommodation during the peak period of April to September is 80% and above, the Tatkal charges that are applicable during the peak period will be charged throughout the year, i.e., for both the peak and the non-peak periods.
Premium Tatkal
A new booking system called Premium Tatkal was introduced on October 1, 2014, in which, half of the tickets on certain trains will be dynamically priced.[1][3] These tickets can be purchased by passengers only online, not by out. To begin with, the Indian Railways has implemented this system for some 80 trains. The same rules apply, otherwise, for both Premium Tatkal and Tatkal tickets.
Fraud with Tatkal Scheme and Prevention Measures
Due to misuse of this scheme, from June 2015, the Ministry of Railways has changed the timings of tatkal bookings; ticketing agents including IRCTC agents are prohibited from booking non-Tatkal tickets for 30 minutes from the opening of bookings, i.e., from 8 am to 8.30 am for general classes, 10 am to 10.30 am for Tatkal AC classes and 11 am to 11.30 am for Tatkal non-AC classes.[1]
