How To Book Tatkal Tickets On Irctc

By Saturday, March 23, 2013





Today is officially the best day of my life. I wouldn't have been this happy if I topped in my college or got into Harvard or MIT, because well there is still a 0.1% possibility that could happen. But the thing that could never happen is me booking a tatkal ticket on the god sent IRCTC.

My rivalry with IRCTC goes way back when the tatkal timings were 8:00am-10:00am, I would get up with one eye closed only to find out waiting lists at 8:05 ! I don't know how the railway agents do it. Yes, some of them still go to stations and stand in lines but others book their tickets online only. If IRCTC opens on their systems so easily, why not mine ?

It took me a some hit and trials to figure out the right way but I have a few tried and tested tips that could really help. Also, in the end, it depends on your sheer luck !


  • ALWAYS use Internet Explorer. Chrome and Firefox do provide with Auto-Fill option but what is the use of it all when the website just won't open ?

  • If the site is taking sometime to load, do not try to login from another window or browser. Multiple logins will only sign you out.

  • Pick a train and class that has atleast 10+ seats at the time of booking, just to be on the safer side. Never pick one with less than 6 seats, you might just end up in the waiting list

  • Keep your ID cards and Debit cards handy. You have to enter your ID card number in the ticket. Do NOT go ninja at the last moment

  • Never use SBI for tatkal. That's just my personal opinion. I find the SBI server pretty slow and annoying. I had recommend ICICI or HDFC

  • After payment, do not panic if the screen goes blank. It might take some sometime

  • Keep clicking on the screen every 2 minutes if the pages is loading, so that the site does not go idle or it will sign you out (Pretty annoying, I know !)

  • Be on time, 10am sharp. The sooner you start trying, the more chances you have 

  • Treat IRCTC as a dyslexic child, it takes some time to analyze and respond

  • Play Shirdi wale Sai baba/ Jai Mata Di on your computer side by side and hope for the best 


Has anyone of you been able to book a tatkal ticket ? Do share your experience!



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About the Author

I love Game of Thrones, walking my dog, eating burgers and spaghetti aglio olio. Also, I am always planning my next trip.

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17 comments

  1. Being Traveler23 March 2013 at 12:32

    Hahahaha...... Loved the last suggestion. Jai Mata Di.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tomichan Matheikal23 March 2013 at 21:02

    Enjoyed the humour and sarcasm.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nisha24 March 2013 at 00:22

    Haha.. the last suggestion should be the first.. or rather.. pray with every click :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Neha Sharma24 March 2013 at 00:38

    good one Ritika!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous24 March 2013 at 09:27

    Lol :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. sibi24 March 2013 at 22:40

    Hope some railway officials and SBI team would read this and get the message!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rohan25 March 2013 at 00:51

    Awesome!! Yeah I have tried a couple of times to get takals via irctc. . It never happened. . So from then I hired professionals to do the dirty job! :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. desi Traveler30 March 2013 at 17:02

    Good suggestions, IRCTC is responsible for high sales of BP medicines in this country.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous1 April 2013 at 09:46

    lol.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Maverick30 April 2013 at 23:49

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete