Booking a train ticket on IRCTC is a rite of passage. It is one of the leading e-commerce destinations in India, which is a rather strange thing once you really dig into all the pages and understand the names of the servers. Despite the fact that it feels like you’ve stepped into an internet time machine dialed back to the year 2000, the service still works and you can’t avoid it when you need to book a train ticket.
The first thing you need to know are the rules, and they are numerous and numerous. Do you know the rules of Tatkal tickets, all the classes available, the difference between sleepers and seats, the best trains to travel on and what are the chances of booking the tickets? OK Here’s a quick refresher course that will go a long way in improving your chances of getting a ‘Shubh Yatra’ when booking train tickets with IRCTC or any other related service it offers.
1) Plan your trip in advance
It’s very basic, but you can greatly improve your chances of getting a reserved ticket by booking for the earliest available time slot. Train tickets can usually be purchased 120 days in advance, and there is a website called Ticketdate that allows you to calculate the earliest booking window based on the type of train you are taking. There are trains that require booking 10 and 30 days in advance, and there are Tatkal tickets, which are more expensive but open a day before the date of travel.
2) Still on the waiting list?
Calculate Odds with Trainman This very cool third-party tool predicts the likelihood of standby train tickets based on historical booking data for that route. Trainman tracks the initial and final status of waitlist tickets and the number of days in between, expressed as a percentage. You can also enter your PNR number to calculate odds.
Click on the percentage symbol in the list of trains listed for a route and Trainman will calculate the odds that trains marked in green are likely to be confirmed, while trains marked in red are likely to remain on the waitlist. Trainman also provides a lot of interesting facts about the fastest trains on specific routes, which should ideally be your first destination before you start booking.
3) Know your station codes, timetables and routes
There are many questions to ask during the ticket booking process and most of your questions can be answered at Indianrail.gov.in which provides real-time data on seat availability, fares, timetables and routes. The website may not look pretty, but it will help you make a decision. Pro tip: You don’t want to ride the mail train unless you have time to kill.
4) Use this autofill tool to book Tatkal tickets quickly
Booking Tatkal tickets for family? The amazing autofill button developed by Amit Agarwal will greatly improve your chances of getting confirmed tickets when the doors open at 10:00am. It lets you pre-enter passenger booking details and fill them out on your browser with the click of a button.
5) Book tickets through BookMyTrain cash on delivery
Don’t have any online payment options at hand? The BookMyTrain app is available on all major smartphone platforms and lets you choose cash on delivery in over 200 cities in India. Check out our review of the app for more details.
6) Put on the waitlist? Convert your train tickets to air tickets
IRCTC partners with low-cost flight operators to allow you to convert your standby ticket into a ticket, which can be purchased on the day of train travel or the day after. An IRCTC spokesperson said the service will be 30-40% cheaper than regular flights, but the scheme is only available for tickets booked at least three days before the date of travel.
7) Use Railyatri to find out if your train is on time
Want to make sure you don’t spend hours on the platform due to delays? For those who want to be train watchers, Railyatri has an excellent live train status feature that allows you to track the location of your trains in real-time. The site has some other amazing map-based features that can tell you where on your train route you’re likely to find and lose cellular connectivity, as well as which trains to avoid, based on average delays at specific stations.
8) No food packed? delivered to you
You’ll need a cast-iron stomach to handle the food in the kitchen, and for those with more sophisticated tastes or weaker constitutions, there’s Travel Khana, which offers a selection of breakfast, lunch and dinner options on more than 2,000 trains, covering all major railway stations in India. The service is cash on delivery and can be booked via the app or over the phone.
9) Carry a map with you
Sometimes, Maps can be the best app, especially if you’re in a place with limited network connectivity. For travelers without fixed plans, this rail map is a useful and handy reference point to help you find the nearest train station wherever you are.
