Booking to Tatkal Tickets & Measures to Avoid Misuse of Tatkal Scheme

Ministry of Railways

Booking to Tatkal Tickets & Measures to Avoid Misuse of Tatkal Scheme

On Indian Railways, reserved accommodation including Tatkal accommodation can be booked through computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) on first come first served basis. During peak rush periods/days when demand outstrips the availability, reserved accommodation especially in higher classes and on popular routes gets exhausted within short duration of opening of reservation. However, during lean periods, on non-popular and lower classes, the accommodation remains available for longer duration. The phenomenon is more relevant for Tatkal where limited accommodation is earmarked. This happens as the available limited accommodation is accessed simultaneously through more than 10,300 counters at 3465 computerised Passenger Reservation Centers as well as through internet.

To avoid misuse of Tatkal Scheme, there are some inbuilt features in Tatkal scheme which includes provision of not granting refund on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets except in case of certain special circumstances indicated in the scheme, not allowing any modification of Tatkal ticket, etc. Some additional steps have also been taken to facilitate the passengers and to avoid the misuse, some of which are:-

• Staggering of the timings of reservation under Tatkal scheme.
• Captcha implementation in Registration, Login and Booking page to check fraudulent booking through automation software.
• Imposition of minimum time limit before proceeding for payment gateway as well as after making payment while booking tickets through internet.
• Making OTP(one time password) compulsory for all net Banking Payment options.
• Disabling authorised agents to book Tatkal tickets during first half an hour of opening of reservation.

To keep a check on the activities of touts, preventive as well as regular checks are conducted jointly/individually by Vigilance, Security and Commercial Departments, and the action against the culprits is taken as per provisions of Section 143 of Railways Act, 1989.

This information was made available in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Source: PIB

Read More

Booking to Tatkal Tickets & Measures to Avoid Misuse of Tatkal Scheme

Ministry of Railways

Booking to Tatkal Tickets & Measures to Avoid Misuse of Tatkal Scheme

27 MAR 2018

On Indian Railways, reserved accommodation including Tatkal accommodation can be booked through computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) on first come first served basis. During peak rush periods/days when demand outstrips  the availability, reserved accommodation especially in higher classes and on popular routes gets exhausted within short duration of opening of reservation.  However,   during lean periods, on non-popular and lower classes, the accommodation remains available for longer duration.  The phenomenon is more relevant for Tatkal where limited accommodation is earmarked. This happens as the available limited accommodation is accessed simultaneously through more than 10,300 counters at 3465 computerised Passenger Reservation Centers as well as through internet.

To avoid misuse of Tatkal Scheme, there are some inbuilt features in Tatkal scheme which includes provision of not granting refund on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets except in case of certain special circumstances indicated in the scheme, not allowing any modification of Tatkal ticket, etc. Some additional steps have also been taken to facilitate the passengers and to avoid the misuse, some of which are:-

• Staggering of the timings of reservation under Tatkal scheme.
• Captcha implementation in Registration, Login and Booking page to check fraudulent booking through automation software.
• Imposition of minimum time limit before proceeding for payment gateway as well as after making payment while booking tickets through internet.
• Making OTP(one time password) compulsory for all net Banking Payment options.
• Disabling authorised agents to book Tatkal tickets during first half an hour of opening of reservation.

To keep a check on the activities of touts, preventive as well as regular checks are conducted jointly/individually by Vigilance, Security and Commercial Departments, and the action against the culprits is taken as per provisions of Section 143 of Railways Act, 1989.

This information was made available in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

PIB

Read More

Changes In Tatkal Booking System and Waitlist System in Indian Railways

Changes In Tatkal Booking System and Waitlist System in Indian Railways

Following changes have been made in recent past, in Tatkal scheme & waiting list system in general reservation:-

(i) With effect from 15.06.2015, timings of booking of Tatkal accommodation in Air-conditioned and non-Air-conditioned classes were staggered to 1000 hours and 1100 hours respectively on the previous day of journey from train originating station.

(ii) With effect from 25.12.2015, minimum and maximum Tatkal charges were revised.

(iii) Instructions have been issued to Zonal Railways to fix Tatkal quota upto a maximum of 30% of capacity of coach depending on the utilization of this quota during the last six month period. Instructions have also been issued to review this quota preferably twice a year.
(iv) With effect from 07.10.2015, the ratio of updation of Tatkal waiting list against cancellation of confirmed general accommodation, which was earlier 1:1, has been revised to 1 (General) : 2 (Tatkal).

(v) For waiting list limit in general reservation, although no change has been made in current waiting list limit, instructions have been issued to zonal Railways to define adequate waiting list limit so that no inconvenience is caused to the passengers in obtaining waiting list tickets against Pooled quota and remote quota.

This Press Release is based on information given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communications and Minister of State for Railways in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 22.07.2016 (Friday).

PIB

Read More

Tatkal booking likely to get easier – IRCTC

Tatkal booking likely to get easier – IRCTC

“Attempts are being made to simplify the extremely popular Tatkal reservation system.”

Tatkal booking is a blessing in disguise for train travelers who urgently need tickets, but the process of booking tickets on this system could be a constant source of irritation. Though plenty of reasons are attributed to it, the main grouse is the slow server connectivity and the IRCTC website’s inability to handle multiple user load.

Addressing this issue, Sandeep Dutta, the Chief Public Relation Officer of IRCTC, which is a sister concern of the Indian Railways, said, “All over the country, more than ten lakh tickets are reserved everyday, of which about 50% is booked through IRCTC.

“On the Tatkal system, between 10 AM and 12 PM, nearly 1.5 lakh tickets are booked everyday on the IRCTC website. In the beginning the website server was able to book only 7000 tickets per minute. Now, it has been raised to 14,000 e-tickets per minute.

“When users all over the country try to reserve tickets on Tatkal at the same time, the website crashes due to the overload. This has constantly been a huge challenge for IRCTC. Despite the fact that IRCTC has given a number of facilities, its reputation suffers due to this.

To tackle this problem, IRCTC decided to purchase five new world-class Singapore-based servers. These servers will be added to the main IRCTC server in another ten days. User capacity will increase from 14,000 to 24,000 per minute maximum. There will not be any website crash after that.

So, Tatkal reservation is going to become much more user-friendly.

Source: www.cgstaffnews.in

Read More

Tatkal Booking Timings Change – Online Booking Passengers Pleased

Tatkal Booking Timings Change – Online Booking Passengers Pleased

Revision of Tatkal Timings – Passengers are happy with the steps taken by the Railways?

There is now a reduction in the jamming of the IRCTC website that occurred because AC and Second Class passengers were trying, at the same time, to book tatkal tickets online. It has therefore now become easier for passengers to book second class tickets on the internet.

Nearly 15000 tickets are being booked through IRCTC website at tatkal hours. The huge traffic will be diverted into two segments such as AC and Non AC.

Timings for the Railway Tatkal ticket booking have been changed from 15th June 2015. Previously the booking under Tatkal Scheme opens at 10.00 hrs on the previous day of journey from train originating station for all classes. According to the new schedule, booking for the AC coaches will open at 10 AM and ticket bookings for the other non AC classes are open at 11 AM.

And one more important decision taken by the Railway Board is completely debarred from booking tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of booking for all authorized IRCTC Agents.

Generally the total number of seats of a train are divided into various quotas. Such as General Quota, Tatkal Quota, Ladies Quota and Pooled Quota. These quotas will differ for different trains.

30% of the total available Berths on a train are allocated for Tatkal Quota, and 10% are set aside for sitting tickets. Approximately 2 seats will be allocated in each coach for Ladies Quota. And nearly 8% of seats reserved for Pooled Quota. In AC Coaches, 16 tickets for each 3-tier AC coach and 10 tickets of 2-tier AC coaches are also being allocated for the online tatkal booking.

Accommodation reserved not only for Ladies, also Sr. Citizen and Pregnant Women. Accommodation of six berths in sleeper class of all the trains is earmarked for exclusive use of lady passengers. In addition to this a combined quota of 2 lower berths is earmarked in sleeper class, AC 3-Tier and AC 2-Tier classes for Sr. Citizens, Female passengers 45 years of age and above traveling alone and pregnant women in all trains. Pregnant women will be required to submit a certificate of pregnancy certified by one registered Medical Practitioner at the time of booking against the quota.

So totally 40% tickets are being set aside for quota reservations. With more than 80% of the population preferring to travel in second class, it becomes a moral duty of the Government to give due importance to it.

Read More

50% Tatkal Tickets on Dynamic Pricing in 5 Central Railway Trains

50% Tatkal Tickets on Dynamic Pricing in 5 Central Railway Trains
 

50% TATKAL TICKETS o­n DYNAMIC PRICING

Ministry of Railways have decided that 50% of the existing tatkal quota tickets shall be sold under dynamic fare scheme. After booking of the first 50% of tatkal tickets under tatkal quota, the subsequent 50% tatkal tickets will be sold o­n dynamic pricing. The fare shall increase by 20% after each slab of 10% berths are sold subject to the existing cap (maximum fare chargeable) o­n dynamic fare.

As such the scheme is implemented in following 5 trains of Central Railway with effect from 3.10.2014.

1. 11015 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur Kushinagar Express
2. 12534 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Lucknow Pushpak Express
3. 11093 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Varanasi Mahangari Express
4. 12141 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Rajendranagar (Patna) Express
5. 11077 Pune-Jammu Tawi Jhelum Express

#Tatkal Booking, #Tatkal Scheme, #Train Ticket Booking, #irctc tatkal, #Tatkal Tickets on Dynamic Pricing

Read More

IRCTC News: Booking of Railway Tickets through Mobile Phones without internet connection

IRCTC News: Booking of Railway Tickets through Mobile Phones without internet connection

IRCTC launches pilot project for railway ticketing through Mobile phones without internet facility

A pilot project of ticketing through non-internet based mobile phones has been launched by IRCTC on Ist July 2013. The salient features of the scheme are as follows:-

    There is no need of internet at any stage, viz. booking, payment, cancellation etc.
    The user gets ticket details Short Messaging Service (SMS) instantly.
    SMS along with Photo Identity Card in original can be used to travel, no printout of the ticket is required.

The steps taken to popularize the booking of tickets through non-internet based mobile phones through SMS mode are as follows:

•     Publication in leading newspapers.
•     Distribution of brochures about SMS booking.
•     Sending details of the scheme through e-mail to all registered users of IRCTC.
•     Display of message on the website of IRCTC.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today

Source:  Central Government Staff News

Read More